The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to inform local and international airlines about a planned 21-day no-fly rule for 46 people who had contact with a suspected or confirmed Ebola case.
TheNewsGuru reports that the Aviation Minister announced this in a statement after a virtual meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, where they discussed ways to contain the Ebola outbreak.
According to Keyamo, the list includes 44 people who were in contact with the affected person at a hospital after symptoms appeared, along with two domestic staff members.
He added that officials are isolating these contacts until they confirm they have not caught the virus.
Keyamo said aviation authorities are expected to prevent these individuals from flying for at least 21 days, which he said is needed to monitor for symptoms.
“I have therefore directed the NCAA to immediately inform all local and international airlines of this development,” he said.
The minister has told the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to improve Ebola surveillance and response at all international airports in the country.
He said FAAN is now carrying out more health screenings, temperature checks, monitoring of travellers’ histories, digital health declarations, and working more closely with other agencies.
Keyamo explained that these steps followed earlier regional outbreak alerts, and that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) is also involved in the response.
These directives aim to improve health checks at Nigeria’s entry points and reduce the risk of Ebola spreading through air travel.
