News

By Mohamed T Massaquoi in Pujehun

The National executive of the Pujehun District Descendants' Association over the weekend donated 20 bags of rice and le 1 million to the Pujehun District Health Management to feed people in homes quarantined due to suspected Ebola cases.

The association's Public Relations Officer, Moses Kanneh referred to the donation as their first intervention since the outbreak of the disease in the district apart from "individual interventions in the sensitisation process".

By Jenneh Braima

An official in the office of the information minister, Abdulai Bayraytay, says government has no plans to implement a 21-day lockdown as a response to the Ebola outbreak as widely speculated.

He, however, told Politico at their Youyi Building office in Freetown that they might take "all necessary measures" to prevent the spread of the virus, even if it meant a lockdown, which duration would be determined by health experts.

Twenty-four hours after she was jailed for one week by the Court Martial for contempt, Politico's Crime Reporter, Aminata Phidelia Alie was freed on Tuesday afternoon.

It followed a series of phone calls to and a meeting held with Attorney General, Frank Kargbo by FreeMedia Group, the publishers of Politico.

This was also supported by the President of Women in The Media (WIMSAL), Asmaa James who also held a meeting with the Attorney General.

By Steven Bockarie Mansaray in Kabala

A district taskforce on Ebola in collaboration with a committee being headed by Dr Fasseneh Samura has extended the ban on movement of people in and out of Koinadugu district for another two weeks.

The initial restriction of one week expired on Sunday 10 August, 2014.

The committee chairman said the decision was to continue to control the movement of people into the district as the disease was being spread through contact with infected persons.

By Mustapha Kamara

WHO’s Country Representative in Sierra Leone, Dr Jacob Mufundu, has told journalists in Freetown that his organisation will soon set up Ebola testing mobile laboratories in Kenema, Makeni, Freetown and other parts of the country.

He said the move aimed to boost the national fight against the disease, and that there was need to establish such labs across the country because the virus was taking a huge toll on the country.

Germany has urged its nationals to leave Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea due to concern over the Ebola virus, a German foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by Reuters as saying on Wednesday.

"The government's crisis management group met this morning to discuss West Africa and the Ebola virus. It decided to request all German citizens in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to leave," he said.

The request did not apply to medical workers or German diplomatic staff and embassies will remain open, he added.

By Jenneh Braima

Chairman and founder of the African Youth Coalition against Hunger, AYCAH, Peter Amara has told Politico that “a pending economic crisis will be grave if Ebola is not eradicated in the country.”

He said what the government was doing now it should have done long done to tackle the outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic fever, adding that the economy of the country was being deprived of revenue generation through taxes and market dues.