By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio last week imposed a 12-hour daily curfew on Kambia District as part of measures geared towards tackling the rising spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
A statement issued by the office of the Inspector General of Police says residents of Kambia are prohibited from moving outdoors between 8pm and 7am.
“No person shall be out of doors between the hours of 8pm and 7am except under a written permission granted by the Inspector General of Police or any other officer deputized by him in that behalf,” the statement signed by the Inspector General, Ambrose Sovula, reads.
It adds that defaulters face a fine of Le 10 million (about $1,000) or an imprisonment for six-month, or both.
Kambia borders Sierra Leone to Guinea which is so far the worst affected country in the four-nation Mano River Union, which also include Liberia and Cot d’Ivoire.
Kambia, located in the northern region of Sierra Leone, is home to the official border crossing point between it and Guinea. The district is also dotted with about 100 illegal crossing points, many of which are riverine communities.
Sierra Leone, about a fortnight ago, shut down all its land borders with Guinea and Liberia.
While the statement didn’t give any reason for the curfew, it followed reports indicating that people had been crossing through illegal means from Guinea into the Sierra Leone side, including by boat, during night hours.
The measure comes as Sierra Leone announced additional two cases, bringing its total to four, as of Saturday April 4.
While the government works to contain its internal transmission, the concern across the border remains huge. This is especially so for Guinea which continues to get worse in terms of transmission of Covid-19.
As of Saturday, while Liberia had six cases, Guinea had 52 cases, according to figures from the World Health Organization.
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