FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - The authorities in Sierra Leone are ordering people to stay inside their homes for three days later this month as part of an effort to stop the spread of the Ebola virus, a government spokesman said Saturday.
The government is telling people to stay inside their homes on Sept. 19, 20 and 21, said the spokesman, Abdulai Bayraytay. The dates were chosen to give people enough time to stock up on food and other provisions before the ban on movement goes into effect, he said. An official in the president's office had said the lockdown would last for four days.
Already though, some are questioning whether the measure will help. Doctors Without Borders, which has been helping to fight the outbreak of the virus across West Africa, says it 'will be extremely difficult for health workers to accurately identify cases through door-to-door screening.'
Even if cases are identified during the lockdown, the group said, Sierra Leone does not have enough beds for the patients.
'Without a place to take suspected cases - to screen and treat them - the approach cannot work,' the group said Saturday. 'It has been our experience that lockdowns and quarantines do not help control Ebola as they end up driving people underground and jeopardizing the trust between people and health providers. This leads to the concealment of potential cases and ends up spreading the disease further.'
Ebola has killed more than 2,000 people across West Africa, including more than 400 in Sierra Leone.
