Bayelsa State Government on Monday denied rumours that the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease has been recorded in some parts of the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Health and Head of Ebola Task Force, Dr. Ayebatonye Owei, said there was no truth in the speculations.
He was reacting to rumours that three EVD cases were recorded over the weekend at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri.
It was also speculated that some of the persons who had contacts with the dead doctor in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, escaped to Bayelsa.
Residents in the state have been in panic since some cases of Ebola were confirmed in Port-Harcourt.
But Owei said: “There is no Ebola case in Bayelsa” and described the speculations as “false.”
Also the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, urged the people of the state not to panic, explaining that proactive measures had been put in place to check the spread of Ebola.
The governor in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said he decided to appeal for calm because of the close proximity of Bayelsa to Rivers State and the fact that the people of the two states share a common historical and cultural heritage.
“Government has created 103 surveillance centres in all the local government areas as part of measures put in place to curtail the Ebola virus and the people have been put on red alert for suspected patients with the symptoms of the deadly virus to check its spread,” the governor said.
He reiterated the call for people to imbibe the culture of personal hygiene, noting that government had given adequate support to the 18-member task force set up to fight Ebola.
