ALMOST a week after Sierra Leone's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, declared a state of emergency in response to the Ebola outbreak sweeping through West Africa, troops were finally deployed on Monday. The move, known as Operation Octopus, aims to enforce a strict quarantine of affected areas and homes that have been exposed to the disease. It is badly needed.
When Baobab's correspondent visited one of four quarantine sites in the capital on Sunday, the Koroma family were entertaining guests. Neighbours freely wandered in and out and members of the family periodically left the building. Two disinterested police officers stood nearby. "They [our superiors] told us not to let them go too far" said one of them uncertainly.
In late July Saudatu Koroma passed away. The family say she was killed by a witch, but the government says she tested positive for Ebola. She died in her parents' arms en route to the nearest Ebola hospital, a four hour drive from the capital. For 21 days - the maximum incubation period for the disease - they were to be confined inside their home.
Saudatu had been picked up by police and a medical...Continue reading
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