Abuja, By Winifred Ogbebo and Victor Okeke

One of the nurses that attended to the Liberian, Ebola Virus victim, Patrick Sawyerr, has been confirmed dead of the virus.
She is the first Nigerian casualty of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease in Lagos.
The Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, made the announcement yesterday in a press briefing in Abuja, saying that the first Nigerian Ebola Virus victim, was one of the nurses that attended to the Liberian, Patrick Sawyerr, who also died of the disease in a Lagos hospital.
He also disclosed that Nigeria has now recorded seven confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease, with two dead, including the Liberian while the other five cases are currently being treated at the isolation ward in Lagos.
He said, “‘The first one was the index case- the imported case from Liberia of which the victim is now late.”
“Yesterday, 5th August, 2014, the first known Nigerian to die of the EVD was recorded and this was one of the nurses that attended to the Liberian. The other five cases are veing treated at the isolation ward in Lagos.”
Chukwu said it was pertinent to note that all the Nigerians diagnosed of the EVD were primary contacts of the index case.
He also disclosed that the federal government was making arrangements to procure isolation tents to quicken the pace of providing isolation wards in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
He added that the ministry was setting up a special team to provide counseling and psychosocial support to patients, identified contacts and their families.
“The 24/7 Emergency Operations Centre which I intimated you of in my last press comference will be functional by tomorrow.”
The minister also added that the ministry was embarking on recruiting additional health personnel to strenghten the team who are currently managing the situation
He reassured that the government was working hard to ensure the containment of the outbreak.
“Within the week, I and the honourable minister of Information would be visiting Lagos State to assess the situation on ground.”

Source: Leadership