Thousands of People Break Quarantines to Find Food Despite Rising Ebola Infection Rate in Sierra Leone
Thousands of people are breaking Ebola quarantines in order to search for food in Sierra Leone in spite of a rising infection rate in the West African country, international aid agencies have said.
Despite government programs, supported by the U.N.'s World Food Program, delivering food and other necessities to quarantined people, there are a number of areas in the country that have not been reached by the aid, forcing thousands to go out and search for food.
"We have to take the sick out and take the responsibility with firmness. We must end Ebola now," said President Ernest Bai Koroma, who urged ordinary citizens to do more to help with the crisis, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
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The Disasters Emergency Committee warned, however, 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."
Jeanne Kamara, Christian Aid's Sierra Leone representative, added that there were many "nooks and crannies'' in the country that were being missed by the aid, leading people to break the quarantines. This in turn endangers others and fuels the infection rate to new heights, Kamara said.
"The number is just rising exponentially,'' Christian Aid's coordinator continued. "The speed with which we have to have such a robust system of planning and coordination'' is too fast.
Late in October it was reported that more than 20 people per day are dying from Ebola in western Sierra Leone. A state-imposed curfew has sought to bring back order after riots erupted in some towns over people's mistrust of the government.
Quarantines and government restrictions have also been imposed on Liberia and Guinea, which along with Sierra Leone have seen almost 5,000 people die from the deadliest Ebola virus outbreak in history.
Aboubakar Sidiki Diakite, an official with Guinea's Health Ministry, said that the situation in the country is improving, however, thanks to the large amounts of international aid that has flooded the country.
The aid has come from many nonprofit organizations, as well as from national governments like the U.S., which sent close to 3,000 medical troops into West Africa to build treatment tents and educate the locals on Ebola prevention measures.
The World Health Organization, which is keeping track of the disease, warned at a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that more medical teams and treatment tents will be needed to finally bring the outbreak under control.
On Wednesday, the government of Australia announced that it will be committing close to $17.4 million to fund a 100-bed Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone, Voice of America reported.
While Australia has said it will not be sending medical teams into the virus-affected parts of West Africa, prime Minister Tony Abbott said that the country will be financially supporting efforts to stop the outbreak.
"We have been particularly concerned that any Australian personnel going to West Africa should be able to access appropriate treatment and evacuation procedures," Abbot said.
"In the last few days, we have had assurances from the United Kingdom that they would treat any Australian who is working in the Ebola-impacted parts of West Africa as though he or she were a citizen of the United Kingdom."
