Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo has directed airlines to restrict 46 identified Ebola contacts from flying for 21 days.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed aviation authorities to place 46 persons identified as contacts of an Ebola-affected patient on a no-fly list for at least 21 days as part of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Keyamo also ordered the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to strengthen Ebola surveillance and response protocols across all international airports, including enhanced health screening, temperature checks and travel history monitoring.

The Minister disclosed the directives in a statement posted on his verified X account following a virtual meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.

According to Keyamo, the health minister provided a list of 44 persons who came into contact with an affected female patient at a hospital after she developed symptoms of Ebola, alongside two members of her domestic staff.

“This evening, I held a virtual meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate over the Ebola scourge,” Keyamo stated.

“He shared with me a list of 44 persons with whom the affected person came in contact at the hospital when she had developed the symptoms and an additional two persons who are her domestic staff.”

The minister explained that efforts were underway to isolate the identified contacts until health authorities could establish whether they had contracted the virus.

He said aviation authorities were required to prevent the individuals from travelling by air for at least 21 days, corresponding to the period within which Ebola symptoms may develop following exposure.

“Whilst efforts are ongoing to isolate them for now until there is certainty they had not been infected with the virus, the Aviation authorities are required to put them on a no-fly list for at least 21 days (which is the period that the symptoms are normally expected to manifest),” he said.

Keyamo disclosed that he had directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to immediately notify domestic and international airlines of the restriction.

“I have therefore directed the NCAA to immediately inform all local and international airlines of this development,” he stated.

The Minister also instructed FAAN to intensify health surveillance and Ebola response measures at international airports nationwide.

According to him, the airport authority has already introduced enhanced health screening, temperature checks, travel history tracking and digital health declarations.

“I have also directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to heighten Ebola response and surveillance protocols across all international airports,” he said.

“Measures already being implemented by FAAN include enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, travel history tracking, digital health declarations, and strict inter-agency coordination with the NCDC following regional outbreak alerts earlier.”

The Minister’s statement did not identify the affected patient, disclose the location of the hospital where the contacts occurred or specify whether the infection was contracted within Nigeria.

It also did not indicate that any of the 46 identified contacts had tested positive for Ebola.

The restrictions are intended to prevent potentially exposed individuals from travelling by air while health authorities assess their infection status. (AriseNews TV)