8th August, 2014
Kazeem Ugbodaga
Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu on Friday said the clinic belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at Muri Okunola area of Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria has been shut down over suspected case of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in a patient admitted in the clinic.
The minister, who paid a visit on Governor Babatunde Fashola at the State House, Ikeja, confirmed that the clinic had been shut down over a suspected case of Ebola in the clinic, saying that the situation is still under investigation and that by tomorrow, the result would be out.
“The situation is still under investigation and by tomorrow, the result will be out. We need to confirm that. Normally, once someone has been managed and there is a suspicion, there are precautions that will be taken.
“We want to decontaminate and when you are decontaminating, like what we did to First Consultant Medical Centre, you close to enable you to go in, decontaminate it and reopen. So, we are going to decontaminate and reopen the place, so, it is temporary closed,” he said.
However, the NNPC issued a statement, saying that the clinic was shut down over suspected case of Ebola virus.
The statement issued by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe disclosed that a patient admitted in the hospital was suspected to have traces of Ebola, which led to the closure of the hospital.
“The management of the NNPC has announced the indefinite shutdown of its clinic in the Muri Okunola area of Victoria Island, Lagos, following a suspected case of Ebola virus on admission at the clinic. It was discovered that the patient visited the First Consultant Medical Centre during the period the first Ebola case was reported at that clinic,” NNPC said in the statement, adding that people that had contact with the patient were being traced.
Meanwhile, the Minister, Chukwu said a team had been constituted treating people for Ebola, saying that the next stage “is improving what we are doing at the borders, those of you who have been at the Murtalal Muhammed Airport (MMA) and Idiroko, they are now screening, they take the temperature, you have forms to fill, they know your bio-data.
“When you have increase in temperature, there is a procedure to investigate you. This, we are doing. We have banned corpses coming into the country, but if you think you have a good reason to have your relative brought in, you seek for the waiver, if you think the person did not die of Ebola and you have certificate, we allow you,” he said.
The minister said government is going to procure more of the hand held thermal detectors to be put round the borders, saying that “we have 49 land crossings, eight sea ports, eight international airports; it is not easy to cover.”