Sierra Leone imposes Ebola curfew for northern districts.

June 17, 2015 Ernest Bai Koroma, Sierra Leone’s number one man, is introducing a curfew for two northern districts because of a rise in Ebola infection cases.  It is recalled that while Liberia, one of the three countries that was hit the hardest has been declared free of the disease, Sierra Leone and Guinea, are still grappling several new cases daily, making these countries extend emergency measures.

According to the president in a TV address, “The curfew restriction and the soldier activities will last for 21-day period. Offenders detained during this 21-day period are to be taken to court of law thereafter,”

“The following business will be eased provided they adhere to the Ebola prevention protocols such as temperature screening of employees and customers, and hand washing and prevention of overcrowding during business hours. Supermarkets are allowed to operate their businesses from 6am to 9pm Mondays to Saturdays. Restaurants are allowed to operate from hours 6am to 10pm Mondays to Sundays,”

The two districts lie on the route between the capital Freetown and the Guinea border and have been the focus of recent cases, not all too surprising as some residents in the area refuse to obey anti-Ebola measures, escaping quarantine, washing dead bodies, and insisting on traditional practices of giving birth at home, in the current crisis. On the positive side at least in many other districts of the country, there are no more Ebola patients.