s) at District Level should be activated with immediate effect.
- No public gatherings are allowed expect for those geared toward Ebola sensitization.
- All means of transportation to the epicenters of the disease are restricted.
- Donor partners are immediately co-opted to be members of the Presidential Task Force and
- All relevant authorities and the general public are admonished to strictly adhere to these regulations
On August 4, 2014 a National Stay Home by all citizens was observed throughout the country to reflect on the impact of the Ebola disease. Also, during the month of August 2014, Parliament passed into law the Public Health Amendment Act, 2014 to allow enforcement of new Public Health Regulations.
The government has ordered the use of Chlorine solution for the washing of hands prior to access to all public facilities including banks, insurance facilities, telecom company facilities, health facilities and other corporate and private offices as well as in homes. The situation has become very alarming. The government therefore intends to shut down the country for three days (19th – 21st September, 2014) for people to stay home in order to carry out a nationwide house-to-house check that would employ 21,000 trained personnel who would have to detect early signs of the Ebola disease.
The above notwithstanding, three senior medical doctors have died as a result of being infected with the Ebola virus during the course of their work.
In addition to this, about forty five front line nurses and other EOC attendants have been infected and died of the virus at the time of the preparation of this report. It is sad to see loved ones die and buried like paupers with no family members allowed to see their remains. It’s a serious matter though!
SOCIO – ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF COMBATING THE EBOLA DISEASE
- The declaration of a public health emergency on 30th July 2014 continues to create fear and panic amongst majority of the people of this country.
- With the declaration of a state of public health emergency, prices of goods and services have increased considerably, making life very difficult for most people including both public and informal economy workers.
- Two districts (Kailahun and Kenema in the eastern region) have been quarantined since 6th August, 2014 (people are not allowed to go in and out of these two districts except essential staff and goods).
- Measures regarding public transportation is another area that is impacting on the people especially workers, traders and ordinary citizens who travel mostly in buses, mini buses and taxis to the city – to transact their businesses. With the reduction in the services provided by the Commercial Bike Riders (7 am – 7pm daily), taxis and other public transport, transport owners have unilaterally increased fares much to the discomfort of commuters. In addition, there is now a reduction in the number of passengers carried by buses and taxis posing serious challenge to passengers in terms of access to transportation.
- The banking sector has also been affected by the Ebola crisis through the delivery of its services that have been scaled down from the normal 9 am to 3:30 pm to between 9 am to 1:30 pm Mondays to Fridays.
- The closure of entertainment centres country wide continues to pose a big challenge to the youths who normally would go to video centres to watch films and football among others.
- The declaration of a state of public health emergency has also affected the tourism industry, with significant drops in their operations, due mainly to cancellation of flights into the country, as well as activities undertaken by hotels that are sponsored by business outlets.
- The restriction on movement of people in some parts of the country continues to affect them both socially and economically, as most people including street vendors, hawkers, and traders, depend on doing businesses of all sorts in the now quarantined Ebola districts of Kailahun and Kenema.
- What is even more worrying about the Ebola crisis is that no pronouncement has yet been made about the date for the re