intervention fund to fight the deadly Ebola virus.
He equally declared the control and containment of the virus in
Nigeria as national emergency.
The president had summoned an emergency meeting, having cancelled his
scheduled trip to Owerri, the Imo State capital.
Jonathan directed Federal Ministry of Health to work in
collaboration with the State Ministries of Health, the National Centre
for Disease Control (NCDC), the National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) and other relevant agencies to ensure that all possible steps
are taken to effectively contain the threat of the Ebola virus in line
with international protocols and best practices.
In a statement by his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, the president
approved a Special Intervention Plan and the immediate release of
N1.9bn for its implementation, to further strengthen on-going steps to
contain the virus such as the establishment of additional isolation
centres, case management, contact tracing, deployment of additional
personnel, screening at borders, and the procurement of required items
and facilities.
"The President commends the vigilance of aviation and health
authorities in Lagos who identified and isolated the index case in
Nigeria, the late Patrick Sawyer, an American-Liberian who flew into
the country.
"He also applauds the good work of health authorities at both State
and Federal levels who have traced persons who had contact with him,
isolated other identified cases and embarked on massive public
enlightenment.
"President Jonathan calls for even greater vigilance and co-operation
at all levels to stop the Ebola virus from spreading further".
No comments:
Post a Comment