The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said it is considering paying ₦100,000 weekly to people quarantined over the Ebola outbreak as the number of contacts under surveillance rises from 44 to 53.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr Jude Idris, disclosed this at a press briefing on Sunday, explaining that the proposed payment was intended to ease the financial burden on people placed in isolation and their families.
Idris said the support would be a temporary measure to reduce tension among those in quarantine while arrangements were being made for the Federal Capital Territory Administration to take over the responsibility.
He noted that state governments were responsible for providing support to people placed in isolation.
The 53 people under monitoring include contacts of the confirmed case, healthcare workers and domestic staff who may have been exposed to the virus.
Meanwhile, a suspected Ebola case in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has tested negative, offering some relief to health authorities working to contain the outbreak.
Idris also disclosed that the University of Abuja was activating its isolation centre and making quarantine arrangements to strengthen preparedness and response to the disease.
The index case is a 42-year-old Ugandan woman married to a Swiss national who arrived in Nigeria after travelling to Uganda.
The NCDC chief said establishing her complete travel history had proved difficult, raising concerns about the identification and monitoring of people who might have been exposed to the virus.
The imported case involves the Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease, a strain of Ebola that requires prompt identification of contacts and effective infection prevention measures to limit further transmission.
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