By Nathaniel Irobi
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to immediately heighten Ebola surveillance and response protocols across all international airports in the country.
The directive followed a virtual meeting the Minister held today with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, over the Ebola scourge.
In a post on X today, Keyamo disclosed that Professor Pate shared with him a list of 44 persons who came in contact with the affected person at the hospital when she developed symptoms, in addition to two domestic staff members, bringing the total to 46 contacts.
He stated that efforts are ongoing to isolate the contacts until there is certainty that they have not been infected with the virus, adding that aviation authorities are required to place them on a no fly list for at least 21 days, the period within which symptoms are normally expected to manifest.
“I have therefore directed the NCAA to immediately inform all local and international airlines of this development,” Keyamo said.
He further directed FAAN to heighten Ebola response and surveillance protocols across all international airports.
According to the Minister, measures already being implemented by FAAN include enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, travel history tracking, digital health declarations, and strict inter agency coordination with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), following regional outbreak alerts issued earlier.
The move is part of efforts to prevent the importation and spread of the virus through the nation’s airports, with the Minister assuring that the relevant agencies are fully mobilised to safeguard public health.
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