The Federal Government has ruled out an immediate ban on conferences and other large public gatherings following Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case, saying there was no evidence of community transmission.

The patient, who arrived in Nigeria without symptoms and developed illness several days later, was improving, while health authorities monitored 44 contacts identified through investigations at hospitals, domestic settings and other locations she had visited.

The government also directed a reduction in visiting foreign delegations, particularly those arriving from or travelling through affected countries, while intensifying contact tracing, border surveillance and public sensitisation.

Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, said at a briefing in Abuja on Thursday that the patient’s improving condition did not lessen the need for vigilance. He warned that misinformation, public distrust and non-compliance could undermine containment efforts.

At a separate briefing to the National Economic Council (NEC), Pate said 21 states had updated their preparedness and response plans, leaving 15 yet to do so. The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, in a separate statement, challenged former vice president Atiku Abubakar over his criticism of the government’s response and said the N10 billion approved by President Bola Tinubu for the Ebola emergency remained untouched.

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