Sierra Leone is to go through another three days lockdown, the government has announced.
President Julius Maada Bio made the declaration on Thursday night in a nationwide address. “Epidemiological data and other evidence indicate that there is
community transmission of COVID-19 in Sierra Leone,” the president said in the live broadcast aired on the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation.
“Informed by expert advice therefore, Government has decided to intensify contact tracing and detection; scale up testing and isolation; expand treatment, and undertake all other measures
necessary to break COVID-19 transmission in the country,” he said.
The lockdown is to commence on Sunday, May 3 and end on Tuesday, May 5. The grace period of two days was allowed for the population to prepare before the lockdown. In this regard, banks have been ordered to operate on Friday, May 1, which is already declared a public holiday, and Saturday May 2.
The statement added that all other existing measures, including a nationwide curfew from 9pm to 7am as well as restrictions on inter-district movement, remain in force.
The development comes as cases of covid-19 spiral out of control in the country. A total of seven districts, out of the 16 districts, now have cases. They spread across all five geographical regions.
As of Friday morning, updates from the Emergency Operation Center, there were 136 cumulative cases and seven deaths. There were 21 recoveries.
KC/APA
KC/abj/APA