Sierra Leone politician in quarantine

Sierra Leone’s vice president has put himself in quarantine following the death from ebola of one of his security guards.

Vice-president Sam Sumana voluntarily decided to quarantine himself for 21 days following the death from ebola last Tuesday of one of his security personnel, according to a report issued by the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation.

Sumana called on all those who have been in contact with the dead man to also put themselves in quarantine, said the report.

“The vice-president opted to quarantine himself because he wants to lead by example,” said Sierra Leone’s deputy minister of information and communications, Theo Nicol. Sumana will carry out his official duties from home for 21 days, he said.

Sumana’s dramatic quarantine comes as Sierra Leone is experiencing a rise in new ebola cases which prompted President Ernest Bai Koroma to reinstate restrictions on Saturday.

Sierra Leone recorded 18 new cases of ebola in the week ending Saturday, up from 16 new cases last week. This breaks the trend of falling cases in Sierra Leone. Many of the new clusters of cases are related to the capital’s fishing industry.

The measures reimposed include a night-time ban on all boats launching from shore and from commercial vehicles off-loading goods in western market areas.