A woman reportedly identified as Nigeria’s Ebola index patient has been evacuated from the country by air ambulance, according to a report by ARISE News. The medical evacuation allegedly took place early Monday morning through the private jet section of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
Sources cited by ARISE News indicated that the passenger, reportedly the wife of a Swiss diplomat stationed in Nigeria, was scheduled to be flown out of the country at approximately 6 a.m. A news crew deployed to the airport’s General Aviation Terminal reportedly observed a convoy of ambulances and diplomatic vehicles arriving at the private aviation section.
The report states that airport officials cordoned off the area during the incident. ARISE News later obtained video footage showing a medical evacuation aircraft and its crew preparing to transport the passenger. The organization stated that the specific circumstances surrounding the evacuation led it to suspect the individual was the reported Ebola index patient.
A source indicated to the news outlet that the Federal Government intended to announce the evacuation only after the aircraft had taken off and left Nigerian airspace. However, the report did not include any official confirmation from the Federal Government, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), or airport authorities regarding the passenger’s identity, diagnosis, or destination.
As of the time of reporting, the details surrounding the reported evacuation remain subject to official confirmation.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
