Sierra Leone Ends Its Three-Day Anti-Ebola Lockdown

The Ebola spread is far from over in West Africa. Although the number of new infections has decreased, recent setbacks is threatening the comeback of the deadly virus. To prevent the resurgence of the Ebola virus, one of the hardest hit West African country, Sierra Leone, had ordered a three-day lock-down period from 6am on March 27. During the lock-down period some 26,000 volunteers went door-to-door to check for sick people and raise awareness about the disease. The government announced the end of this three-day nationwide lock-down on Sunday evening, after which Sierra Leoneans were once again allowed to leave their homes.

Officials at the National Ebola Response Center (NERC) said, "Locals had overwhelmingly complied with the lockdown, the second time in six months the country’s six million residents were told to stay indoors over Ebola concerns. The focus this time was on hotspots in the capital as well as areas in the north and west of the country. The campaign went well and we are pleased over the level of compliance."

Witnesses and local media said, "The quarantine period passed off peacefully with the exception of one incident in the Kaffu Bullom chiefdom in the northern district of Port Loko, where a group of health workers came under attack." In Kambia, also in the north near the border with Guinea, some people are said to have taken refuge in the bush to avoid encountering the health teams.

Festus James, a health worker, said, "Yesterday (Saturday), we visited a quarantine house where we discovered a seven-year-old boy who was looking sick. We wanted to take him to the hospital for further checks when we were pelted with stones and water was thrown at us. We had to flee from the area together with our two security guides. It was all very terrifying."

Official figures detailing the results of the campaign will be released on March 31.

Source-Medindia