Vice president goes into Ebola isolation

The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation said Sam Sumana had decided to quarantine himself for 21 days following the death from Ebola last Tuesday of one of his security personnel.

The report said Mr Sumana called on all those who had been in contact with the dead man to follow suit.

Deputy minister of information and communications Theo Nicol said Mr Sumana put himself in quarantine because he wanted to lead by example. He said Mr Sumana will carry out his official duties from home.

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

Sierra Leone recorded 18 new cases in the week ending yesterday, up from 16 last week. This breaks a trend of declining cases in Sierra Leone. Many new clusters of cases are related to the fishing industry in the capital Freetown.

The measures re-imposed include a night-time ban on boats launching from shore and on commercial vehicles off-loading goods in western market areas. Naval vessels will patrol the shore and wharves.

There will be restrictions on ferries and police health checkpoints will be strengthened. Public transport orders will be reinstated which limit the numbers of passengers in taxis to two in cars and four at the back of large taxi vans.