{Sierra Leone said on Friday it was banning any public Christmas celebrations as the spiralling caseload of Ebola infections continues to spread alarm.}
Soldiers are to be deployed throughout the festive period to force people venturing onto the streets back indoors, the government’s Ebola response unit said.
Palo Conteh, head of the department, told reporters in the capital Freetown there would be “no Christmas and New Year celebrations this year”.
“We will ensure that everybody remains at home to reflect on Ebola,” he said.
ISLAM IS DOMINANT
“Military personnel will be on the streets at Christmas and the New Year to stop any street celebrations.”
While Islam is the dominant religion, more than a quarter of the population is Christian and public gatherings and entertainment are common during the festive period.
Conteh did not give the exact dates of the crackdown or specify any exceptions.
In past local and nationwide anti-Ebola curfews, people have been allowed out to worship and for “essential business”.
Under current emergency regulations, bars and nightspots have been shut down and public gatherings are outlawed but there is no general ban on wandering outdoors or working.
OVERTAKEN LIBERIA
Sierra Leone, which has overtaken Liberia to report the most cases of the killer virus, has recorded 1,319 new infections in the last three weeks.
Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday appointed a Mauritanian national to head the UN Ebola mission set up two months ago to combat the world’s worst outbreak of the virus.
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who currently serves as number two at the UN mission in Libya, will succeed American Anthony Banbury as head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
Ould Cheikh Ahmed takes over the mission as the number of infections continues to rise in Sierra Leone, overtaking Liberia as the hardest-hit country.
The year-long Ebola epidemic has left nearly 6,400 people dead, with close to 18,000 infections in eight countries, although West Africa remains the epicenter of the crisis.
UN MISSION CREATED
Ould Cheikh Ahmed, 54, has worked for various UN development and humanitarian agencies in Syria, Yemen, Nairobi and Georgia.
Ban decided to create the first UN mission focused on a health emergency to coordinate the international response to the epidemic following criticism from non-governmental organizations that not enough was being done.
UNMEER is headquarters in Ghana, but has country offices in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Mali.
Daily Nation
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