By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The District Emergency Operation Center in Kenema has reactivated byelaws it instituted during the fight against Ebola, in preparedness for the ongoing global Coronavirus pandemic.
The decision was taken on Tuesday at a stakeholders meeting bringing together District Council and health authorities, as well as security officials.
District Medical Officer, Dr Donald Grant, said during the meeting that the measures were important to protect the district and the country at large from the virus.
“This consultative engagement is to determine how best as a district we can agree on the byelaws that were set up to fight Ebola and to strengthen it as part of the structures in the fight against coronavirus,” Grant stated.
“We know Kenema for its resilience during the Ebola era, which helped greatly to combat the virus. And we want to activate those old measures as preparedness to protect our district,” he added.
Kenema shares border with neighboring Liberia which has recorded two cases as of Thursday. Dr Grant said it was important to increase vigilance in chiefdoms along the border communities.
Nomo, Gaura and Tunkia chiefdoms are all situated close to the Liberian border with the Eastern region of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone has not recorded any case of the Coronavirus yet.
The district authorities also agreed to provide enhanced infection prevention control measures, including water and soap at the entrance of every public facility, stressing on the need for everyone to comply with hand washing requirement.
Mohamed Amadu Sesay, Chairman of the Kenema District Council, spoke about the need to tighten security to prevent illegal crossing from Liberia.
“As a district we have agreed that all porous crossing points with Liberia should be closed immediately. Together with the military commanders, more personnel should be deployed at those crossing points so that nobody should enter Sierra Leone illegally without been screened and travel ban should be instituted from Liberia and Guinea to Sierra Leone,” he said.
“We have to ensure that section chiefs and police ensure that nobody keeps strangers, that was one way we succeeded to overcome the Ebola virus in 2014,” he added.
The Minister of State East, Andrew Ansu Fatorma, called on Paramount Chiefs to assume their leadership role by ensuring that Coronavirus doesn’t come in to their chiefdoms.
He said: “We want all paramount chiefs in Kenema District to go back to their chiefdoms to take leadership roles against the coronavirus,” Fatorma said, while giving a strong warning to herbalists to refrain from taking advantage of the situation to exploit the people and thereby encouraging practices that let the people off their guard.
“All traditional healers are warned not to treat anyone sick secretly, but to contact the health workers. And any traditional healer or herbalist caught treating the sick will be dealt with seriously,” he said.
Among several other measures, military officers will stop people and check for identification to determine their citizenship. Unnecessary travel between districts will also be discouraged, officials said.
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