A woman described as Nigeria's Ebola index patient has reportedly been flown out of the country on a medical evacuation plane.
The evacuation took place early Monday morning at the private-jet wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
It said the woman is the wife of a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria.
She was reportedly due to leave at about 6 a.m.
Its crew at the airport’s General Aviation Terminal obtained photographs of ambulances arriving from the city centre with diplomatic vehicles.
The three-vehicle convoy reportedly included a vehicle of an international agency.
The outlet said it obtained video of the aircraft and its crew preparing for the passenger.
It said she was suspected to be the index case because of the nature of the operation.
A source said the Federal Government would announce the evacuation only after the plane had left Nigerian airspace.
However, her identity, the flight’s destination and her condition are yet to be confirmed.
No official statement from the government or health authorities was available at the time of filing.
Treatment Centres Planned In Port States
Meanwhile, the Federal Government plans to identify and equip Ebola treatment centres in states with designated ports of entry.
This comes as the number of contacts linked to Nigeria’s confirmed case rose to 53.
An Ebola situation report obtained on Sunday said the government is assessing isolation capacity at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital.
An infection prevention and control (IPC) assessment is also planned at Karu General Hospital.
The authorities are also setting up referral systems for suspected cases and improving surveillance at ports of entry.
Under next steps, the report listed the “Identification and optimisation of treatment centres in states with designated POEs”.
POEs are the designated ports of entry.
It also listed referral mechanisms, with transfers “from point of detection to treatment centres.“
The report said the national incident management system has been activated under the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate.
NCDC Pays Contacts ₦100,000 Weekly
In addition, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) approved an emergency payment of ₦100,000 per person weekly for people in isolation or quarantine.
The agency’s Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, announced this at a briefing on Sunday.
He said some contacts had complained about the cost of feeding, accommodation and supporting their families.
"We are paying for their accommodation; we are paying for their feeding. Some of them are asking for a stipend to maintain their families,” he said.
“This was not planned for, but it is an emergency. We will continue to review it as we go along,” he said.
The payment is meant to help contacts follow monitoring rules without extra financial hardship.
Idris also said the burden should not rest on the Federal Capital Territory alone.
“This is not the responsibility of the FCT alone. What we have to do for the FCT, we have to do for any other state, just in case,” he said.
Contacts, Sequencing And Case Definition
Idris said 44 of the 53 contacts were linked to the health facility that treated the patient.
The other nine included household members and people who attended to her in an earlier emergency room visit.
The NCDC is also tracing secondary contacts.
“For each person, we are going to ask questions. We have to establish who they have been in contact with. If we can identify those people, they will also be monitored,” Idris said.
He said one contact who felt unwell tested negative.
The report added that genomic sequencing of the confirmed case is complete.
The NCDC National Reference Laboratory and the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases did the work.
Chai! What a pity, I hope she gets cured of this disease, and 100k per week? That is a lot of money oh, hmmm, It is well.