State of emergency in Sierra Leone as Ebola toll rises

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Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency as authorities struggle to contain the Ebola virus pandemic in west Africa, with the death toll now climbing to almost 730.

The country’s president says all epicentres of the disease will be quarantined, enforced by the police and the military.

Sierra Leone has also joined Liberia in restricting public gatherings, with all deaths required to be reported to the authorities.

Several other African countries have announced measures to screen travellers at border posts.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), another 57 people have now died in west Africa, pushing the overall death toll from the epidemic to 729.

It is the worst ever outbreak of the virus, which often causes fatal bleeding and has no vaccine. There are now fears it could spread beyond West Africa.

Cancelling a planned trip to the US-Africa summit in Washington, Sierra Leone president Ernest Bai Koroma made a televised address to his country warning the disease poses an extraordinary challenge to the nation.

Mr Bai Koroma will meet with the leaders of Liberia and Guinea in Conakry on Friday to discuss the epidemic.

“Sierra Leone is in a great fight … failure is not an option,” Mr Koroma said in a speech late Wednesday.

Announcing the state of emergency will initially last between 60 and 90 days he added: “Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures.”

The 57 new Ebola deaths were recorded between Thursday and Sunday last week in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the WHO said in a statement.

The UN health agency said 122 new cases were detected over those four days, taking the total number of confirmed and likely infected cases from the outbreak so far to 1,323.

Ongoing risk of transmission

The WHO said the trend in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone “remains precarious with ongoing … transmission of infection”.

Guinea is suffering the worst from the disease. In the last four days of last week the country’s authorities reported 20 more deaths apparently from Ebola, taking its national fatality figure to 339.

Liberia suffered another 27 more deaths, taking their national death toll to 156. Sierra Leone reported a further nine deaths brining their total death count to 233. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country also reported its first death.

Authorities in Lagos said a man had died of the virus.

However the WHO said the medical sample taken from the patient who died in Nigeria shortly after arriving by air had still not been analysed by its regional lab because courier companies were refusing to transport it.

The agency added that it “does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions” be applied to Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, or Sierra Leone at this time.

Regional leaders are due to meet on Friday in Guinea to discuss the developing crisis.

In a measure of rising international concern, on Wednesday Britain held a government meeting on Ebola, warning the disease poses a threat it needs to respond to.

The US Peace Corps said it was withdrawing 340 volunteers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea after two of them came in contact with a person who later died of the virus.

But the International Airlines Association (IATA) has said the WHO was not recommending any travel restrictions or border closures and there would be a low risk to other passengers if an Ebola patient flew.

AFP/Reuters