By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Despite Sierra Leone getting the all green approval by the UK Government of being amongst countries and territories with low risk travel during this covid-19 pandemic, the NaCOVERC Chairman and Deputy Minister of Finance II, Mohamed Bangura has said surveillance will be raised up in the face of growing fears of new strains and variants of the virus in parts of Asia.
Sierra Leone is now a low-risk country with an infection rate of 0.1 percent per 1,000 persons. Bangura made this statement at the weekly press briefing held at the Ministry of Information and Communication in Freetown on Thursday 20 May 2021. He said Sierra Leone has a low infection rate of 0.1 percent per 1,000 persons but admitted the need to step up surveillance by focusing on persons travelling from countries with high rate of deaths or variants.
He stated that Indians arriving in the country and that are resident in the country are being closely monitored in order to keep the spread of the virus at bay. The NACOVERC Chairman said that of the 263 Indians tested, 16 positive cases were confirmed with 215 testing negative, with the remainder yet to be confirmed. With this, he affirmed that there is still a community spread within the Western Area although there is a decrease in cases and bed occupancy.
While speaking on the pattern of the disease in Sierra Leone, Bangura observed that the country had witnessed two waves and that there is a chance of a third wave if people remain complacent. The Deputy Minister of Information and Communication, Solomon Jamiru acknowledged the exponential rise of coronavirus cases in India and other places in the world at current and expressed fears about a possible spread in the country hence the need for more surveillance measures.
The Programme Manager Health Education Division in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Harold Thomas presenting key statistics of COVID, mentioned that the pandemic is in its 60th week in the country. Serving as Risk Communications Lead also, Thomas said that there are 4,115 cumulative confirmed cases with 79 deaths reported so far and with 4 active cases. He noted that the average number of daily test is 453 with an average positive rate of 2.5 percent and 0.7 percent in the last seven days.
The Pillar Lead for Vaccination, Dr. Tom Sesay said that there will be a gradual transition from surveillance case management to vaccination. He said that the highest recipients of the vaccine are located in the Western Area since the region has been the epicenter of the virus. Dr. Sesay stated that Kenema ranked 2nd with Bo and Kailahun in third and fourth respectively.
“People over 40 and other vulnerable categories are targeted,” said Dr. Sesay. He highlighted that there were 336,000 doses of AstraZeneca and Sino Pharm available with 101,000 utilized. While acknowledging the need for more vaccines in order for the 80 percent vaccination threshold to be successful, Dr. Sesay said that NACOVERC expects a dose of over 523,000 from the international community through the COVAX scheme and further 520,000 from the World Bank with the rest being procured by the government through international collaboration and cooperation.
While answering question on the side effects of the vaccines , Dr. Sesay said that there are 30 reported cases of side effects but none related to blood clot but rather mild reactions like head ache, fever and joint pain. He agreed about a rethink of the present strategy and the establishment of more vaccine sites.
According to officials, 506 billion Leones has been provided to NACOVERC with 503 billion Leones used on vehicle procurement, paying of risk allowances and other contingencies. 18 percent of the funds has also been spent on case management, health education and oxygen supply. 10.9 percent has been spent on testing with 5.8 percent on isolation and quarantine.
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