Ebola: FG increases screening at major airports

The Federal Government has deployed additional personnel, thermal scanners and sanitisers to Lagos and Abuja airports in order to prevent Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, Punch reports.

This is coming after the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently confirmed the death of at least one person as a result of Ebola in the North-East of Congo

Acting General Manager, Public Affairs, FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu said the authority had stepped up its surveillance on inbound travellers at the arrival halls of the Lagos and Abuja airports following the recent Ebola case in Congo.

Yakubu stated,said; “Of course, the Congo incident has called for increased surveillance and screening. I’ve spoken with our doctors in Lagos, Port Health officials as well as those in Abuja and FAAN will definitely come up with something. There has to be increased surveillance now that Ebola has been detected in Congo.

“By tomorrow, we will definitely come out with other things that FAAN is doing with respect to the issue you raised and I’ll let you know.

“However, we have always had thermal scanners in our airports that monitor temperature of passengers and capture their pictures. We still have hand sanitisers in our rest rooms too.”

“These scanners are fixed apparatus at the arrival halls that take the picture and temperature of any given passenger at a particular time as the traveller passes through them. And we have Port Health officers behind the apparatus.

“So, once it detects a temperature that is above normal, the officials will just single you out immediately and take you out of the queue for further screening. That screening or exercise is going on up till this moment.

“In fact, the equipment and officials have never been removed even after the last Ebola incident. They are now fixed apparatus in the arrival hall. We have it in Abuja and in Lagos airports. I’ll have to confirm that of Port Harcourt, but I’m sure they are in Abuja and Lagos.

“Also going by the latest incident, we are increasing our screening.”