Ebola: Keyamo orders 46 contacts of infected woman placed on 21-day no-fly list

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to notify local and international airlines to place 46 people who had contact with Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola patient on a no-fly list for at least 21 days.

Mr Keyamo disclosed this on Wednesday after a virtual meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, to discuss measures to contain the outbreak.

He said the list comprised 44 people who came into contact with the infected woman at a hospital after she developed symptoms, as well as two members of her domestic staff.

The minister said efforts were ongoing to isolate the individuals while health authorities determined whether they had contracted the virus.

He said he had directed the NCAA to notify all domestic and international airlines of the restriction immediately.

Airport surveillance intensified

Mr Keyamo also directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to strengthen Ebola surveillance and response measures at all international airports in the country.

According to him, measures being implemented include enhanced health screening, temperature checks, tracking of travellers’ histories, digital health declarations and coordination with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

He said the measures followed earlier alerts about Ebola outbreaks in the region.

ALSO READ: Ebola: Nigerian govt assures citizens of containment strategies

Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday, prompting contact tracing and other containment measures.

The patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, is receiving treatment in isolation at a private hospital in Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that health authorities identified 44 close contacts of the patient and began tracing people who may have been exposed to the virus.

The 21-day restriction ordered by Mr Keyamo is intended to prevent the identified contacts from travelling by air during the period in which symptoms may develop.

Ebola virus disease can cause severe illness and is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or contaminated materials. Its incubation period typically ranges from 2 to 21 days.