By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone is to operate under a State of Emergency effective March 24, 2020, President Julius Maada Bio declared on Tuesday, the latest measure by the government in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bio said in a televised statement that the move was meant to enable the government appropriately respond to the pandemic by protecting Sierra Leoneans and the economy from the effect of the global disease outbreak.
Sierra Leone has not recorded any case of the viral disease yet, but its neighbors, Guinea and Liberia have.
The government’s focus has been to prevent the virus from entering the country. And in this direction, it has announced several measures, including the ban on international flights and restriction on international travels for government officials.
“The rapid global spread of the coronavirus poses immense risk to human beings that can lead to major loss of life and can cause socio- economic disruption in Sierra Leone. This situation requires effective measures to prevent, protect, and curtail the spread of the coronavirus disease in Sierra Leone,” the president said in the statement delivered via state broadcaster, SLBC.
The State of Emergency will last for 12 months, he said.
Also on Tuesday, Parliament was debating a bill to approve the declaration, as required by the country’s Constitution.
The coronavirus or COVID-19, which first broke out in China, has rapidly spread to over 150 countries in Europe, US and elsewhere in Africa.
Even though Africa is least affected by the pandemic, the growing cases in the last two months has raised concern among its leaders and disease experts, especially given the poor state of health facilities on the continent.
Many African countries have been instituting stringent measures, including ban on international flights and nationwide lockdown.
Sierra Leone is one of only three countries in West Africa that haven’t recorded any case, alongside Guinea Bissau and Mali.
In the Mano River Union, Sierra Leone is the only country with zero case of the virus. As of Tuesday, Liberia had three cases while Guinea had four cases.
The focus of the government now, say officials, is to keep this zero status in place. But they say if it also comes in, the goal will be to prevent its spread.
To attain this, President Bio last week also ordered the deployment of the military to enforce all the measures.
In his statement announcing the State of Emergency, Bio also warned against exploitation of the situation for any economic gains. He also said that the declaration wasn’t a notice for a lockdown, noting however that Sierra Leoneans should expect “bolder and more decisive actions” for “clear public health outcomes.
“This is not an imminent lockdown and nobody must use this as an excuse to hoard goods, hike prices, or engage in acts of lawlessness. This public emergency is not meant to make the lives of Sierra Leoneans any more difficult or unbearable and my Government will act decisively under these powers to ensure that,” he said.
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