In parts of Sierra Leone, Ebola continues to spread 'frighteningly quickly'

In parts of Sierra Leone, Ebola continues to spread &#039;frighteningly quickly&#039;

(Image credit: Joern Pollex/Getty Images)

last updated 10 January 2015

In rural areas of Sierra Leone near the capital, Freetown, an average of 12 new Ebola cases a day were reported in late October, compared to 1.3 in early September, a new report from the Africa Governance Initiative says.

The spread of Ebola is happening "frighteningly quickly" in Sierra Leone, but seems to have slowed down in Liberia, the report adds. In Freetown, the average number of daily cases is six times higher than it was two months ago, and remains a "full-blown crisis."

"The government of Sierra Leone is making real strides in tackling transmission by speeding up access to treatment and safe and dignified burial," Nick Thompson, chief executive of the African Governance Initiative, told Al Jazeera. "But we can't rest until Ebola has nowhere to hide. And we can see from growth in new cases in some rural parts of Sierra Leone that we still have no time to lose if we're going to get on top of this."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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