Why govt postponed school re-opening –Chukwu
The Federal Govern­ment said yesterday that even though there is only one case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the country was still very much under threat.
It said the country was do­ing well on containment of the virus, as all the confirmed cases were all traced to the late Liberian American, Mr Patrick Sawyer, the first index case.
The government warned that the country was yet to eliminate the disease because it still had a case of the virus it was managing which might have had a third party contact, “as long as there is a case of Ebola disease, Nigeria is still at risk. We have done well on containment but the problem is not over.”
The Presidency said this is even as it has approved the bill for an Act to establish federal medical centres with uniform functions, manage­rial and administrative struc­tures to provide tertiary health care services within areas of operation and for connected matters. The government also explained that the sister of the late senior consultant/physi­cian/endocrinologist at First Consultants Hospital, La­gos, Dr. Stella Ameyo Adade­voh, does not have Ebola.
He said the sister was un­der observation and had been tested and the result is nega­tive, hence, she is free of the disease that killed her sister, who had primary contact with Sawyer.
The Minister of Health, Prof Onyeabuchi Chukwu, stated this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Coun­cil (FEC) meeting, chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan, which focused on power and health sectors.
Chukwu, alongside the min­isters of Information, Labaran Maku and Power, Prof. Chin­edu Nebo, said it had become the norm since the EVD hit the country through Sawyer to brief the council on the latest on the virus.
He said Nigeria had re­corded 13 cases including the index case out of which seven were managed successfully and discharged, five deaths were recorded while one case is still being managed.
According to the Health minister: “This is a good one for a disease that has 90 per cent mortality rate but we must maintain vigilance.
“I don’t want us to move from panic to euphoria which may be a problem. Nigeria is doing well on containment, all the cases of the disease in Nigeria were traced to Patrick Sawyer. We have not eliminat­ed the disease because we still have a case we are managing which may have had a third party contact. As long as there is a case of Ebola disease, Nigeria is still at risk. So, we have done well on contain­ment but the problem is not over.”
On postponement of school resumption, Chukwu said it relates to primary and sec­ondary schools. “We feel the children might be at risk. The children unlike adult are very playful and might not be too careful. So, it is better to keep them out of school until such a time the Federal Ministry of Health will advise the govern­ment that is safe for them to return to school.”

Ebola: Nigeria still under threat –FG