Ebola is not an automatic death sentence- Fashola

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has said contracting Ebola is
not an automatic death sentence, stressing that the consequences of
death would depend on what is done and what is not done to contain the
deadly disease.

Fashola made this statement during an inspection visit to an isolation
ward for patients with symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease at the Mainland
Hospital, Yaba area of Lagos, today.

The governor furthers "the facility is now ready for use, as the we
tackle the outbreak of Ebola disease that has claimed two lives
already.

"The State has a health challenge on her hands and the administration
is concerned about the people in terms of their well-being and for the
people who have taken leadership to help in containing it.

He stressed that there were already reported cases of patients who are
recovering in other parts of West Africa and that the issue was about
being able to respond to it appropriately and taking precaution.

"We are also taking precaution and that is also why we did not go into
where the patients are because there is a very strict protocol for
going there, so if you are going there, you must wear a fully
protected gown.

In the place where we are expanding to ensure that we are able to cope
with anything that comes, you would see the shower there; people have
to go through a protocol, one way in, one way out. That is why you
cannot go into where patients are now unless you are fully protected
appropriately and unless you walk through the mandated process for
going in and for coming out".

"Those who are detoxifying and decontaminating they don't go in. They
are waiting outside and those who go in do so under a very rigorous
protocol set up with advise from the centre for disease control and
then people who are not critically ill and stuffs, where they go and
how we are going to be disposing off their refuse and their waste have
been worked out.

Provisions have already been made there so that we can separate very
critically ill people from people who are just showing symptoms but
who need to be in isolation," Governor Fashola said.

Fashola said that provisions had also been made to separate critically
ill people from people who are just showing symptoms but who need to
be in isolation.

The governor pointed out that the first defence against the virus was
to prevent it from spreading; stressing that once that is done, then
the health authorities are on the way towards coming out of it.

"From what I hear following a long discussion I heard with the
leadership of the Centre for Disease Control in Washington yesterday,
I was speaking with them comparing what they were doing with what they
expected us to be doing. Their personnel are here for clarity working
and helping in training people," the Governor explained.

He urged persons who feel they had had contact with an Ebola victim to
ensure they do not make further contact with any member of their
family.

The government is making all efforts to ensure that the spread of the
virus is contained and the facility is one of the strategies aimed at
reducing contact with persons with the virus.

Two new case was reported on Friday morning, increasing fears that the
virus was spreading in one of Nigeria's most populous cities, Lagos
with over 20 million people.