FREETOWN: A four-day nationwide lockdown announced by the Sierra Leone government in a bid to contain Ebola outbreak could instead exacerbate the spread of the disease, aid agencies have warned.
From September 18 to 21, people across the west African nation will not be allowed to leave their homes, a senior official in the president’s office said.
But Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) raised concern about the drastic step, warning that it could lead people to try to conceal infections from the authorities.
A spokeswoman said: “It has been our experience that lockdowns and quarantines do not help control Ebola as they end up driving people underground and jeopardising the trust between people and health providers. This leads to the concealment of potential cases and ends up spreading the disease further.”
The move was intended to allow health workers to identify and isolate new cases to prevent the disease from spreading further, said Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, a presidential adviser on the country’s Ebola task force.
So far, more than 3,685 people have been infected in west Africa, with 1,841 deaths from the virus recorded in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria since March, according to the latest World Health Organisation figures.
the Guardian
