Ebola: nationwide lockdown begins in Sierra Leone
Over six million people have been ordered to stay in their homes to help stop the spread of the disease

The government in Sierra Leone has enforced a three-day nationwide lockdown in an effort to contain the deadly Ebola epidemic in the country.
More than six million people will be confined to their homes until Sunday evening and all trading will cease as healthcare workers go door-to-door, checking people for Ebola symptoms.
They will also remind people about the dangers of touching infected corpses and taking patients to traditional healers instead of hospitals.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We are still seeing too many infections taking place" [in Sierra Leone], a UN official told the BBC. Healthcare workers warn that people are becoming complacent and are not doing enough to protect themselves from the disease.
Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia have set a goal of stopping the spread of the disease by April 16. Despite dozens of new cases each week, Sierra Leone’s president Ernest Koroma is determined to meet that deadline.
"I have made my personal commitment to do whatever it takes to get to zero Ebola infections and I call on every Sierra Leonean in every community to pull together," he said, according to AFP.
A similar, but smaller scale lockdown conducted in September last year was hailed as a success as it helped to slow down the spread of the disease.
The latest lockdown will be lifted for several hours on Friday for Muslim prayers, as well as on Sunday for church services.
Ebola has killed almost 10,200 people, mainly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. A total of 79 new Ebola cases were confirmed by the World Health Organization in it latest situation report, of those 33 were in Sierra Leone, 45 in Guinea and one in Liberia.
“While the number of cases has slowed since the peak of the outbreak, the virus is far from eradicated,” reports the BBC.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
South Korean commission exposes history of fraud and abuse in overseas adoptions
The Explainer The largest exporter of international adoptees allowed fraud to flourish, as the government pushed the adoption agenda
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Film reviews: Eephus and The Day the Earth Blew Up
feature Small-town baseballers play their final game and Porky and Daffy return to the big screen
By The Week US Published
-
Music reviews: Playboi Carti, Charley Crockett, and Throwing Muses
feature “Music,” “Lonesome Drifter,” and “Moonlight Concessions”
By The Week US Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published