Sawyer Cremated Ashes To Be Sent To Family - FG

THE body of late Patrick Sawyer who died from the Ebola Virus Disease
in Nigeria has been decontaminated and cremated, officials said,
yesterday.

Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, who briefed newsmen on
the outcome of the inter-ministerial committee on Ebola held with the
Information Minister, Labaran Maku, in Abuja, said the National
Council of State also received reports on the issue and had approved
that state officials should be trained on issues around Ebola.

International protocol

Chukwu said the body of Sawyer was cremated following international
protocol, and with the approval of the Liberian government. The ashes
from the remains, he said, had been requested by the deceased's
family, noting that the process for the transfer was on.

Late Ebola virus disease victim, Patrick Sawyer's wife, Decontee with
her daughter

The heath minister also noted that the Federal Government was in
possession of the manifest of the airline that brought Sawyer into the
country and that people were still being screened for level of
contact. He said two persons who travelled with the victim on same
flight or who had primary contacts with Sawyer have been quarantined,
while 69 others are placed under surveillance.

Chukwu said observation was on in Calabar to detect those who may have
had secondary contact with Sawyer, stressing that such persons would
be quarantined for three weeks, which is the recommended incubation
period.

" We agreed to cremate him in line with internationally acceptable
protocol on disposing a sufferer of Ebola disease. The body of a
sufferer itself is dangerous. The Centre for Disease Control
decontaminated the body before it was cremated. We are now working
with the governors. We want to begin to train the personnel of states
to be able to handle matters of this nature, " he stated

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has sent a team of technical
experts to work with the Nigerian team on the preventing further
importation and spread of the disease.

It was gathered that telecommunication companies in the country had
agreed to start sending out messages to phone users on their mobile
phones on the disease, while the National Call Centre which was
originally scheduled for commissioning on a later date would now be
fast tracked to aid communication on Ebola.