Contrary to the media reports that the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, has sneaked into President Jonathan’s hometown, Bayelsa, the state government has refuted the rumour, saying it is untrue and baseless.
Bayelsa State Commissioner for Health and Head of Ebola Task Force, Dr. Ayebatonye Owei, said there was no element of truth in the rumour.
The Commissioner was reacting to rumours that three cases of Ebol 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 of 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 State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has called on the people not to panic, adding that proactive measures had been put in place to check the spread of Ebola.
Governor Dickson 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 that 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.
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