By Mabinty M. Kamara
Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation said it has imposed a 14-day quarantine period for all travellers coming from China, the epicenter of the ongoing Coronavirus disease outbreak.
According to the Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Alpha Tejan Wurie, the move is a way to help reduce the risks of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
“I want you to know that people that are coming from the epicenter (China), Sierra Leone has now decided to put them in quarantine. The reason being that this disease can be asymptomatic for a long period of time which means that it can come without coughing, it can come without sneezing and yet you are carrying the disease and therefore, we assume that within 14 days, the symptoms will manifest itself,” he said at the weekly government press briefing on Thursday.
He added: “Quarantine is not a prison but a necessary public health emergency to save lives. An epicenter doesn’t mean that it has to be a Chinese citizen. It could be a Sierra Leonean, but as long as you are coming from that region, you will be quarantined.”
The Health Ministry say the emergency operation center has categorized its operation at level two and that they are now coordinating with ministries, departments, agencies and non-governmental bodies concerned.
Dr Wurie said airport attendants and securities would receive training on how to go about with the screening process.
The government said 29 people who travelled to the country from mainland China on Monday were subjected to quarantine.
“Sierra Leone has several entry points and several attempts have already been made. The current incident on Friday, 31st, 25 Chinese got to the Guinea boarders but 7 came into Sierra Leone and those seven were educated that indeed they are going to be quarantined for 14 days at the Gbalmuya holding center and we want the public to know that those 7 returned to Guinea. However, on Tuesday 3rd February, 29 passengers arrived, this time by flight, not one but two or more. And I want to assure you that those 29 are in quarantine,” the Health Minister said.
The Government officials said they were using three locations for the quarantine: 34 Military Hospital, located at Wilberforce, China-Sierra Leone friendship hospital at Jui and the Lungi Government Hospital in Port Loko.
Last week Friday, the Health Ministry announced screening for all passengers travelling to the country. Screening has been done in all border crossing points and at the Freetown International airport.
Dr Wurie said the World health Organization (WHO) had called on all countries to step up prevention mechanisms. He said the MoHS had therefore alerted all District Medical Officers (DMOs) for IPC supplies, especially those that were along or close to the international borders.
The minister urged Sierra Leoneans to observe preventive measures and to stay at least a meter away from anybody that coughs or sneezes.
Coronaviruses are types of viruses that typically affect the respiratory tract of mammals, including humans. They are associated with the common cold, pneumonia, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and can also affect the gut. While the viral infection had been known to be usually mild, the current outbreak, said to be the cause of a new, mutated strain, has proven more deadly.
This current outbreak reportedly started in late 2019 in China, and it became alarming in early 2020.
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