Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Muhammed Ali Pate, has urged Nigerians to remain calm following the Ebola outbreak in the country, assuring them that the Federal Government has the capacity to stop the disease from spreading.
Pate spoke on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa after meeting with the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The minister had earlier confirmed that a woman who arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda tested positive for Ebola after receiving treatment at a private hospital in Abuja.
Speaking with State House correspondents, Pate said Nigeria was working with Uganda and relevant authorities to contain the disease. He also noted that the country had successfully handled a similar situation in the past.
“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda. What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population.
“Federal government has competent authorities to be able to deal with this. We have done it in 2014, and we have good public health institutions. Nigerians should be reassured.”
Pate urged Nigerians to “be vigilant, but not panic,” warning against false information and rumours. He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was working round the clock, while the task force remained active.
He cautioned against “a trap of hysteria or panic,” stressing that the case was imported and being contained. He promised to inform Nigerians if the situation changed.
