Sierra Leone declares state of emergency over Ebola
FREETOWN: Sierra Leone leader Ernest Bai Koroma has declared a state of emergency as the country grapples with a deadly Ebola epidemic.
The country, along with neighbouring Guinea and Liberia, are struggling to contain an epidemic in which about 1 200 people have been infected and more than 700 have died.
“Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures. The Ebola virus disease poses an extraordinary challenge,” Koroma said in a televised speech yesterday.
“Consequently... I hereby proclaim a state of public emergency to enable us to take a more robust approach to deal with the Ebola outbreak.”
Koroma said he had cancelled a trip to a summit of around 50 African leaders in Washington DC next week.
He said, however, that he would travel to neighbouring Guinea for a regional summit on the crisis that would bring together the heads of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Ivory Coast.
Koroma announced a raft of measures as part of the state of emergency, including quarantining Ebola-hit areas and
Fears that the outbreak could spread to other continents have been growing, with European and Asian countries on alert
deploying security forces to protect medical workers. He banned all public meetings not related to Ebola and cancelled foreign trips by ministers and other government officials, exempting only “absolutely essential engagements”.
The president said the measures would be in place initially for 60 to 90 days, and then be reassessed.
Sierra Leone has reported 224 deaths. Omar Khan, a leading doctor specialising in viral haemorrhagic fever – and hailed as a “national hero” who saved the lives of more than 100 Ebola patients before succumbing to the tropical bug – was buried yesterday.
Fears that the outbreak could spread to other continents have been growing, with European and Asian countries on alert.
Leading medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned the crisis would only get worse and said there was no overarching strategy to handle the world’s worst outbreak of the disease yet.
Sierra Leone’s announcement comes a day after Liberia, which has seen 129 deaths, said it was shutting all schools and placing “nonessential” government workers on 30 days’ leave.
Pan-African airline ASKY has halted all flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone following the death of a passenger from the virus.
Reuters says the Seychelles has forfeited its Africa Nations Cup qualifying tie against Sierra Leone after refusing its team’s entry over Ebola virus fears. Sierra Leone were to play the Seychelles in the second leg of a play-off tie tomorrow but were denied permission to board a plane from Nairobi yesterday.