Ebola: Nigerian govt says no restrictions on large gatherings for now

The Nigerian government has said there is currently no need to restrict large gatherings following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said this on Thursday during a ministerial press briefing in Abuja, adding that any decision to introduce restrictions would be based on public health evidence and expert advice.

“At this moment there is no indication that requires us to alter the course of large gatherings that have been planned,” Mr Pate said.

“But if the situation changes, we would decide; we would consult broadly with the right experts and make that determination.”

He urged Nigerians to remain calm, saying the government’s response would be guided by evidence rather than political considerations.

“So Nigerians should be assured that whatever the public health community will come out with will be based on good evidence. At this moment we have not indicated that,” he said.

Patient recovering

Mr Pate also said the woman at the centre of Nigeria’s first confirmed case is recovering and that laboratory results were showing improvement.

He said he had spoken with the clinicians treating her and there is a possibility that she would recover from the disease.

“We cannot hold our breath. We have to continue to pray and work hard to ensure that she survives it,” he said.

The minister reiterated that the case was imported based on the patient’s travel history and that she was asymptomatic when she arrived in Nigeria.

According to him, she developed symptoms several days after arrival, after which she sought medical attention.

The government has traced people who had contact with her in the hospital, at home and at a private clinic she visited. The contacts have been categorised by risk level.

Mr Pate said high-risk contacts had been quarantined in a facility, while others had been isolated and were being monitored in line with public health guidelines.

Response expanded

The minister said the government had activated its incident management system, with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) leading the operational response in coordination with the FCT authorities.

He said all state governments had been informed and that most states already had response plans developed with guidance from the NCDC.

He said states that have yet to complete their plans have been directed to do so quickly.

The government has also mobilised additional resources for the response, including funding from the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCF) and additional resources released to the NCDC by President Bola Tinubu.

Mr Pate said the government was also working with development and technical partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

He said experts who had supported Ebola responses in other countries, including Kenya, have also arrived in Nigeria to strengthen the response.

Mr Pate said Christian Happi, a virologist and director of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases at Redeemer’s University, has been brought into the response to complement the work of the NCDC.

“This is to let Nigerians know that the capabilities are in the country, and the investments that have been made to get us here are bearing fruit,” he said.

‘Do not politicise Ebola’

The minister also criticised attempts to politicise the Ebola response, urging political leaders and the media to treat the situation as a public health issue.

“We certainly would encourage them not to politicise a humanitarian and public health issue,” he said.

Mr Pate said any decisions on restrictions or other measures would be based solely on scientific evidence and what was considered in the best interests of Nigerians.

He also warned against misinformation about the confirmed case, saying the patient had tested positive for Ebola three times.

He said the government could not release the patient’s test results publicly because of medical confidentiality.

The minister urged Nigerians to rely on information from trusted public health authorities and warned that misinformation could undermine efforts to contain the disease.

“The alternative to trusting the expert is a tragedy,” he said.

Border surveillance strengthened

Mr Pate said Nigeria had maintained enhanced surveillance at points of entry for the past five months following the worsening Ebola situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

He said more than 14,000 travellers had entered Nigeria during the period and that the government was strengthening port health capacity, including thermal imaging and risk-based assessment of travellers from affected countries.

He said the government would continue to monitor the situation and adjust its recommendations if the evidence changes.

For now, he urged Nigerians to observe basic preventive measures, including regular hand washing, avoiding unnecessary contact with bodily fluids, and promptly reporting symptoms such as fever, headache, and muscle aches, particularly if they have relevant travel history.

He also urged people identified through contact tracing to comply with isolation and quarantine measures.

“We are assuring Nigerians that we can be able to deal with it, but to do that we need the cooperation of Nigerians to follow expert advice,” Mr Pate said.