Sierra Leone wraps up three-day Ebola lockdown

Sierra Leone has ended a three-day lockdown aimed at stemming the world's worst ever Ebola epidemic, with authorities claiming the controversial operation identified dozens of new infections and located scores of bodies.

In the most extreme strategy employed by a nation since the epidemic began, Sierra Leone ordered its 6 million residents to stay indoors as volunteers circulated to educate households as well as isolate the sick and remove the dead.

In the early evening, even before the lockdown officially ended at midnight, residents in some parts of the capital Freetown emerged onto the streets to sing and dance. Police in the western part of the city said they had made a number of arrests in an attempt to enforce the measure in its final hours.

Stephen Gaojia, head of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) that leads the national Ebola response, said a few areas had still not been reached by the government's teams

“Even though the exercise has been a huge success so far, it has not been concluded in some metropolitan cities like Freetown and Kenema,” he said.

Mr Gaojia said 92 bodies had been recovered across the country by the end of Saturday, the second day of the lockdown.

Some 123 people had contacted authorities during the drive, believing they might be infected. Of these, 56 tested positive for Ebola, 31 tested negative and 36 were still awaiting their results, he said.

No extension

The EOC announced that it would not extend the campaign in order to reach the remaining households as it had earlier said might be required. “It cannot be extended because its objectives have largely been met,” Mr Gaojia said.

Ebola has infected at least 5,357 people in West Africa since March, mainly in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, killing 2,630 of those, according to the World Health Organisation. At least 562 have died in Sierra Leone. The outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever is the worst since it was identified in 1976 in the forests of central Africa.

The lockdown was intended to allow 30,000 health workers, volunteers and teachers to visit every household in the country.

Some criticised the measure before it began on Friday as a rush to stock up on provisions caused a spike in prices, leaving many of Sierra Leone’s poor unable to buy food.

The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières has also warned that the lockdown could lead people to conceal cases.

Residents have largely complied with the plan, and the streets of the capital have remained mostly deserted, except for ambulances and police vehicles.

A team burying Ebola victims was attacked in Freetown on Saturday, however, as a small group defied the lockdown.

Priest infected

A Spanish Catholic priest, who had tested positive for the virus, was evacuated from Sierra Leone yesterday.

Spain's health ministry said that Manuel Garcia Viejo, a member of the Hospital Order of San Juan de Dios, had been working in the western city of Lunsar.

He is the second Spanish priest to be diagnosed with Ebola. Another member of the same order, Miguel Pajares, died last month after being brought back to Spain from Liberia.

The military plane carrying Garcia Viejo left Freetown yesterday evening.

Liberia, meanwhile, opened a new 150-bed Ebola treatment centre in the capital Monrovia yesterday. The country is currently the worst hit by the epidemic, which was first identified in neighbouring Guinea in March.

Irish contribution

Minister of State for Development Seán Sherlock has announced that some €600,000 in funding is being provided to assist communities in Sierra Leone and Liberia battling Ebola. The money will go to Unicef to to provide life-saving nutritional supplies to children who have been affected by the crisis, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

The State is also providing 42 tonnes of emergency supplies, including blankets, tents, mosquito nets and water tanks.

Reuters