Ebola deaths reach 729 in 4 African countries.
The World Health Organization reported 57 new deaths between July 24 and 27 in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria; Sierra Leone declared a state of public emergency and will call in the police and army to enforce quarantine in areas that are the epicenter of the virus.
By Umaru Fofana
FREETOWN (Reuters) Sierra Leone has declared a state of public emergency and will call in the police and army to enforce quarantine in areas that are the epicenter of the Ebola virus, joining Liberia in imposing strict controls amid the worst outbreak of the disease recorded to date, totaling 729 deaths in West Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is in urgent negotiations with its donors and international agencies to send more doctors and resources to the affected countries, located in one of the poorest regions of the world.
The WHO reported 57 new deaths between July 24 and 27 in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.
Authorities in Nigeria, which recorded its first Ebola victim last week—an American citizen who died after arriving from Liberia—said that all passengers arriving from at-risk areas would undergo temperature checks to look for the virus.
The measures resemble a tough anti-Ebola package unveiled by neighboring Liberia on Wednesday night. Sierra Leonean President Ernst Bai Koroma announced he has canceled a trip to Washington for a US-Africa summit next week because of the crisis and will instead attend an emergency meeting with regional leaders in Guinea on Friday.
The outbreak of hemorrhagic fever, for which there is no known cure, began in the forests of a remote region in eastern Guinea in February, but Sierra Leone is now registering the highest number of cases.
"I am declaring a state of public emergency so that we can have a more robust approach to dealing with the Ebola outbreak," Koroma said in a speech Wednesday night, adding that the measures will initially last 60 to 90 days. "All epicenters of the disease will be placed under quarantine."
Koroma said that the police and military will restrict movement to and from the epicenters, and will support health workers and NGOs so that they can operate without hindrance, given that there has been a wave of attacks against health workers by local communities.
He also announced that house-to-house searches would be conducted to track down Ebola victims and enforce quarantine in those areas. Furthermore, the president reported that new protocols had been established for passengers arriving at and departing from Lungi International Airport, on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown, but did not provide details about these measures.
These actions are reminiscent of a series of measures announced by Liberia on Wednesday, including the closure of schools nationwide and a possible quarantine of entire communities.
Ghana also announced on Thursday the introduction of body temperature checks for all passengers arriving from West Africa at Accra airport and other points of entry, as well as the establishment of isolation centers in three cities.
(Additional reporting by Daniel Flynn in Dakar, Tom Miles in Geneva, Tim Cocks in Lagos, Clair MacDougall in Monrovia and Adam Bailes in Freetown; Writing by Daniel Flynn)