Churches in Sierra Leone Are Some of the Last Ebola-Free Zones; UN Warns 50 Percent of Ebola Cases Aren't Being Reported
Churches and other places of worship in Sierra Leone are some of the last public places relatively safe from the Ebola virus where people can gather, according to a new report. The infection rates in the West African country have meanwhile continued to rise, hitting record levels.
"We will overcome Ebola through the blood of Christ, with His help, and with prayer," pastor Olatunji Oseni told his congregation on Sunday at Winners Chapel megachurch in the Freetown, AFP reported.
Although most public gatherings in Sierra Leone, including sports games, concerts, schools and movies, are deemed off limits due to the Ebola threat, believers are still going to churches or mosques. According to the CIA World Factbook, 10 percent of the country's population are Christians, while another 60 percent are Muslims.
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Sierra Leone has been one of the hardest hit countries by the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which has also spread throughout Guinea and Liberia. At least 1,130 people have died from the virus in Sierra Leone alone, while official figures from the minister of health and sanitation reported that infection rates have been rising, and hit 111 new cases on Sunday.
The U.N. has meanwhile warned that Ebola cases in the country are being underreported by close to 50 percent. A number of citizens have apparently expressed concerns in going to the hospitals and being officially registered over fears that they will die separated from their families.
Winners Chapel's deacon, identified as Jim, noted that churches have been taking appropriate measures to safeguard against Ebola, and said that there had not been a single instance of Ebola reported at his church.
"We used to shake hands, to hug, but we don't do it anymore," he said of some of the measures, and pointed out that the rows in the church were now arranged so that worshippers could not touch.
"We have nowhere to go, we find our salvation in God," the deacon added.
The people have also faced a food crisis, with reports from earlier in November that thousands of people in more rural areas have been breaking Ebola quarantines in order to search for food.
While the U.N.'s World Food Program has been providing very much needed aid, the Disasters Emergency Committee warned that certain government restrictions are cutting off food aid to thousands of people.
"The quarantine of Kenema, the third largest town in Sierra Leone, is having a devastating impact on trade — travel is restricted so trucks carrying food cannot freely drive around," the committee said in a statement. "Food is becoming scarce, which has led to prices increasing beyond the reach of ordinary people."
Close to 5,000 people have died across the three West African countries since the outbreak began earlier this year. Medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres warned that although the Ebola cases seem to be going down in Liberia, the international response cannot afford to get complacent.
Fasil Tezera, MSF head of operations in Liberia, said that the international community has helped with financial support, but said that there must be a "flexible approach" to aid that allows "a rapid response to new outbreaks."
