Ebola patient flown to Switzerland as 53 contacts get N100,000 a week

Nigeria's only confirmed Ebola patient was flown out of Abuja to Switzerland by air ambulance early on Monday 26 October. A day earlier, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said it would pay each of the people under quarantine ₦100,000 a week while they are monitored.

The patient, a 42-year-old woman married to a Swiss diplomat, left from the private jet wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 6am, TheCable reported. Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate confirmed on X that the evacuation had his approval. He said she was stable, conscious and much improved, but could still be infectious, so strict safety rules were followed. Her husband, who has shown no symptoms, travelled with her.

She is Nigeria's first Ebola case in more than ten years. She returned from Uganda on 3 October, fell ill on 7 October and was confirmed to have the Bundibugyo type of Ebola on 20 October, according to TheCable and the NCDC.

Health officials have identified 53 people who may have been exposed. Most are staff at the private hospital where she was treated, plus her husband, driver and cook, and others who handled her samples, Premium Times reported. Each will be watched for 21 days after their last possible contact. Being a contact does not mean a person has Ebola.

At a briefing on Sunday 25 October, NCDC Director-General Jide Idris said the agency was already paying for the contacts' accommodation and food, and had approved ₦100,000 per person per week after some complained they could not work or support their families. “This was not planned for, but it is an emergency,” he said, Punch reported. He added that other states must budget for the same support in case cases appear there.

The payment has divided opinion online. Supporters say it keeps people from breaking quarantine, which is how outbreaks spread. Critics question how the response money, including the ₦10 billion emergency fund approved by the President, is being spent. A suspected case in Rivers State tested negative, and the NCDC says there is no sign the virus is spreading in the community.

Pidgin: Di only person wey get Ebola for Nigeria don comot go Switzerland for air ambulance on Monday morning, and Health Minister Pate talk say she don dey better. NCDC talk say dem go pay each of di 53 people wey dem dey watch ₦100,000 every week, plus food and house, so dem fit stay for quarantine.

How this affects you: With the patient gone and no community spread found so far, the risk to most Nigerians stays low, but the 53 contacts are still being watched into November. If a health official contacts you, cooperate. Fever, weakness, vomiting or unusual bleeding after contact with a sick person should be reported to the NCDC on its toll-free line, 6232.