No new Ebola case for 44 days in Sierra Leone district

Pujehun district in the southern region of Sierra Leone has gone for 44 days without a single case of the Ebola virus, the chairman of the district council said Monday.

Sadiq Siilah was addressing stakeholders from the district called to assess the situation since the last case of the disease was reported in the district.

He attributed the success so far to the vigilance of the security sector, which include the police and the military who provided security for the holding center, quarantine homes, checkpoints as well as the border post with neighboring Liberia.

He stated that with the outbreak of the virus in Kailahun district in the east, the council started to institute strenuous measures by closing all the doorways, banned trade fairs, mounted checkpoints and formed their District Task Force to supervise the entire program.

Records show that since the outbreak occurred in the district on August 8 last year, there had been a total of 31 confirmed Ebola cases and the last case was reported on November 26. "Since then we have been recording zero cases," said Siilah.

At a ceremony to observe the Ebola free cases so far, the Minister of Local Government, Diana Konomany-Kabba, said efforts should be made to focus on sustaining the zero rate.

She advised against complacency, calling for continued stringent measures, especially at border entries with Liberia.

Meanwhile according to updates from the Ministry of Health, of the 14 political districts in Sierra Leone only six districts have been recording Ebola cases, including the capital, Freetown. The other eight have been recoding zero cases for about two weeks now. Endi