Ebola: Don’t panic, we’ve capacity to contain virus, Gbajabiamila tells Nigerians

The federal government has assured Nigerians that it has the capacity to contain the Ebola virus disease, saying contact tracing and isolation measures have been activated following the detection of an imported case.

Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu and chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, said the government had strengthened surveillance and response mechanisms since the task force was inaugurated in June.

Gbajabiamila spoke on Wednesday after an emergency meeting of the task force at the State House, Abuja.

He said the early detection of the index case was evidence of the effectiveness of the country’s surveillance systems and preparedness measures.

According to him, about 44,000 flights had operated into and out of Nigeria since Ebola concerns emerged in June, underscoring the importance of the surveillance measures implemented by the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies.

“The passenger with the disease showed no symptoms, which came four days after the woman got into Abuja, and it was the identification process and the protocols that were put in place that enabled the quick identification,” he said.

Gbajabiamila said the task force would strengthen existing protocols and ensure stricter enforcement of public health measures.

He urged Nigerians to cooperate with health authorities, warning against panic and stressing the need to build public trust.