Sierra Leone’s Vice President Sam Sumana has
placed himself in quarantine following the death
of one of his bodyguards from Ebola, a
government spokesman said as the country
reintroduced travel restrictions to combat the
spread of the virus.
Sumana “has decided to place himself in
precautionary quarantine awaiting the results of
tests by the health authorities”, the spokesman
said on Saturday.
Sumana’s bodyguard, 42-year-old John Koroma,
died from Ebola on Friday, medical sources said.
Sources at the vice president’s office said
Sumana is not in danger but had decided to stay
out of his office for the next 21 days and work
from his home in the west of the capital.
Sierra Leone recorded 18 new cases of Ebola
last week, up from 16 new cases the previous
week. This breaks the trend of declining cases in
Sierra Leone. There were clusters of new cases
with many related to the movements of
fishermen.
President Ernest Bai Koroma’s new restrictions,
announced on Saturday, include a night-time ban
on all boats launching from shore and from
commercial vehicles off-loading goods in western
market areas.
Naval vessels will patrol the shore and wharves,
and health checkpoints by the police will be
strengthened.
Sierra Leone’s president leaves for Brussels on
Sunday to consult with the EU at an international
meeting on the fight against Ebola and measures
to facilitate reconstruction in the countries hit by
the virus.
Ebola, one of the deadliest viruses known to
man, is spread only through direct contact with
the bodily fluids of the recently deceased or an
infected person showing symptoms such as
fever or vomiting.
More than 9,500 people have died of the disease
since the West African epidemic emerged in
southern Guinea in December 2013.
Liberia has registered the highest death toll of
4,037, while Sierra Leone has seen almost half of
the total of 23,694 cases.
While Liberia is showing only a tiny handful of
new cases each week, Guinea and Sierra Leone
continue to be a worry to the authorities, who
say they still do not have the epidemic under
control.