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Sierra Leone lifts quarantine as Ebola crisis eases
Sierra Leone on Friday lifted crippling nationwide restrictions on movement put in place at the height of the Ebola crisis, amid signs that the deadly epidemic was retreating.
“Restrictions on movement will be eased to support economic activity. As such, there will no longer be any district or chiefdom level restrictions on movement,” President Ernest Bai Koroma said in an address to the nation late Thursday.
Sierra Leone has restricted travel for around half its population, sealing off six of its 14 districts and numerous chiefdoms since announcing a state of emergency in July in response to an outbreak which has killed more than 3,000 people.
Koroma pointed to a “steady downward trend” in new cases in recent weeks, adding that “victory is in sight” but cautioning against complacency.
The president said the travel bans would be removed from Friday and restrictions will be eased on Saturday trading hours in the hard-hit Western Area, which includes the capital Freetown.
Sierra Leone is targeting zero new cases by March 31 of the deadly virus. The country announced on Thursday that it would end “risk payments” to healthcare workers dealing with Ebola by that date and reopen schools, with teaching expected to resume in the third week of March.
Liberia, which had a peak of over 300 new cases a week in August and September, registered just 8 last week, while there were only 20 confirmed cases in Guinea last week against 45 the week before.
The figure for Sierra Leone was 117 last week against 184 the week before.
