We were under pressure to release victim –
Hospital.
By Sola Ogundipe, Olasunkanmi Akoni, Lawani
Mikairu, Daniel Eteghe & Gabriel Olawale
Lagos—Arik Air yesterday said it had suspended
flight operations to Liberia and Sierra Leone following the death last week, of
a Liberian, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, of the dreaded Ebola disease, even as it
advised that all inbound flights into Nigeria from any of the Ebola
affected countries be immediately suspended by the Federal Government.
Sawyer flew into Nigeria onboard Asky Airline to
attend an ECOWAS conference in Calabar, Cross River State.
This came as First Consultants Medical Centre Ltd, Obalende, Lagos, the hospital where the first Ebola victim in Nigeria died, said it was under serious pressure to release the victim.
Confirming the suspension of the flights
yesterday, Arik Air General Manager, Public Relations, Mr Ola Adebanji said “As
a result of the first Ebola virus death officially confirmed in Lagos, and
involving a Liberian national who flew on a foreign (non-Nigerian) based
airline from Monrovia via Lome (Togo) into the city last week, Arik Air will be
suspending operations into Monrovia (Liberia) and Freetown (Sierra Leone)
effective July 28, 2014.”
“The suspension will be in force until further
notice. This decision is a pre-cautionary measure aimed at safeguarding the
precious lives of Nigerians. Arik Air is taking this important measure as a
concerned corporate citizen bearing interest of Nigerians at heart.“
According to him, the airline acknowledged steps
the Federal Government of Nigeria was currently taking to prevent the spread of
the deadly Ebola virus, saying “however, we feel compelled to take the
decision to immediately suspend services into the two Ebola affected countries
due to our interest in the well being of Nigerians.”
He explained that at the early stages of the
development across West Africa, the Gambian government took the proactive
decision to stop airlines, including Arik Air, from bringing inbound passengers
from Monrovia, Conakry, Guinea, and Freetown into Banjul.
Adebanji added “Hence, in line with the actions
taken by the Gambian Government, we trust, and are confident, that the Federal
Government of Nigeria shall take all steps necessary to control and curtail the
spread of the virus. We humbly suggest that as a first step, all inbound
flights into Nigeria, originating from any of the Ebola-affected
countries, be immediately suspended.”
Meanwhile, First Consultants Medical Centre Ltd,
Obalende, Lagos, the hospital where the first Ebola victim in Nigeria died, has
spoken out on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a statement by the hospital’s Chief Consultant/ Medical Director, Dr B.N. Ohiaeri and the Senior Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Dr. A.S. Adadevoh, it said the hospital was under pressure to release the victim.
In a statement by the hospital’s Chief Consultant/ Medical Director, Dr B.N. Ohiaeri and the Senior Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Dr. A.S. Adadevoh, it said the hospital was under pressure to release the victim.
According to the statement, “He was fully
conscious and gave his clinical history and told us he was a senior diplomat
from Liberia. We refused to let him out of the hospital in spite of intense
pressure as we were told he was a senior ECOWAS official who had an important
role to play at the ECOWAS convention in Calabar. The initial test result from
the Lagos University Teaching Hospital laboratory indicated a signal of
possible Ebola Virus Disease, but required confirmation.
“We then took the further step of reaching out to
senior officials in the office of the Secretary of Health of the United States
of America, who promptly assisted us with contacts at the Centre for Disease
Control and World Health Organisation regional laboratory centre in Senegal.
Jointly working with the state, Federal agencies and international agencies, we
were able to obtain confirmation of Ebola Virus Disease (Zaire strain). The
gentleman subsequently died on Friday at 6.50am (25th July, 2014).”
Following the death of the patient, the duo said
there was “orderly temporary shutdown of the hospital with immediate evacuation
of in-house patients. This was followed by appropriate professional removal of
the body and its incineration under WHO guidelines witnessed by all appropriate
agencies,” noting that the reopening of the hospital would also be in
accordance with WHO guidelines.
The statement added that in keeping with World
Health Organisation guideline, the hospital had been shut down briefly for full
decontamination.
Meanwhile, a cross section of Lagos residents has
urged the state and federal governments to spread their dragnet nationwide to
ensure that all the co- passengers aboard the Asky aircraft that brought the
victim to Nigeria are quickly located and screened for the virus.
Speaking to Vanguard at the departure wing of the
Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, a middle-aged man, who
identified himself as Olukayode, said it was not good enough for the
co-passengers to have been allowed to go away without ensuring their health had
not been compromised.
Another passenger who pleaded anonymity said screening of people should have been adopted earlier to stop the spread of the disease…culled from Vanguard Nigeria