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| Ebola Epidemic Worsening, Sierra Leone Expands Quarantine Restrictions | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Acknowledging that the Ebola epidemic sweeping Sierra Leone was worsening, officials here put hundreds of thousands more citizens under quarantine on Thursday, sealing off more than a quarter of the country and warning travelers not to get out of their vehicles in the districts under isolation. | |
| Nearly all of the country’s 14 districts are now under either total or partial quarantine, with over one million people affected, as the disease advances into new areas. Infection rates have been rising in the capital, Freetown, a dangerous development because of the city’s density. | Nearly all of the country’s 14 districts are now under either total or partial quarantine, with over one million people affected, as the disease advances into new areas. Infection rates have been rising in the capital, Freetown, a dangerous development because of the city’s density. |
| In an address to citizens late Wednesday night, President Ernest Bai Koroma acknowledged that the new quarantine orders would “definitely pose great difficulties for our people,” but he suggested that officials had little choice. Makeni, the largest city in the country’s Northern Province, is in one of the newly quarantined districts, and foreign health care workers are particularly worried about a surge in infections there. | In an address to citizens late Wednesday night, President Ernest Bai Koroma acknowledged that the new quarantine orders would “definitely pose great difficulties for our people,” but he suggested that officials had little choice. Makeni, the largest city in the country’s Northern Province, is in one of the newly quarantined districts, and foreign health care workers are particularly worried about a surge in infections there. |
| In what appeared to be an acknowledgment that official statistics had so far been misleading, the government said the country’s plight was “worse than what was being reflected in reports,” adding that there was a “desperate need to step up our response.” | In what appeared to be an acknowledgment that official statistics had so far been misleading, the government said the country’s plight was “worse than what was being reflected in reports,” adding that there was a “desperate need to step up our response.” |
| A Western diplomat here called Mr. Koroma’s newest restrictive order, coming after a three-day national lockdown that required every citizen to stay inside, “a mitigating measure reacting to a worsening situation.” The diplomat added, “The numbers are not getting better.” | A Western diplomat here called Mr. Koroma’s newest restrictive order, coming after a three-day national lockdown that required every citizen to stay inside, “a mitigating measure reacting to a worsening situation.” The diplomat added, “The numbers are not getting better.” |
| The government set up official corridors for traveling through quarantined areas, and movement through them is now restricted to the hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Passengers were told not to leave their vehicles while passing through quarantined zones. And in individual infected chiefdoms — traditional administrative units — within the newly quarantined districts, Mr. Koroma took the extraordinary step of warning citizens not to “travel to any other chiefdom until further notice.” | The government set up official corridors for traveling through quarantined areas, and movement through them is now restricted to the hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Passengers were told not to leave their vehicles while passing through quarantined zones. And in individual infected chiefdoms — traditional administrative units — within the newly quarantined districts, Mr. Koroma took the extraordinary step of warning citizens not to “travel to any other chiefdom until further notice.” |
| The World Health Organization, echoing the government’s increasingly worried tone, said Thursday that the “situation in Sierra Leone continues to deteriorate,” noting a “sharp increase” in new Ebola cases in Freetown, rising to more than 80 for the week ending Sept. 21. | The World Health Organization, echoing the government’s increasingly worried tone, said Thursday that the “situation in Sierra Leone continues to deteriorate,” noting a “sharp increase” in new Ebola cases in Freetown, rising to more than 80 for the week ending Sept. 21. |
| The W.H.O. said Thursday that there had been 597 deaths in the country and 1,940 Ebola cases, nearly a third of the total for the three West African countries most affected; the other two are Guinea and Liberia. | The W.H.O. said Thursday that there had been 597 deaths in the country and 1,940 Ebola cases, nearly a third of the total for the three West African countries most affected; the other two are Guinea and Liberia. |
| Over all, the W.H.O. reported, there have been 2,917 deaths from Ebola. At least 2,909 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 6,242 reported Ebola cases over all, according to its latest report. Nigeria and Senegal have recorded a total of eight deaths and 21 cases of infection. | Over all, the W.H.O. reported, there have been 2,917 deaths from Ebola. At least 2,909 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 6,242 reported Ebola cases over all, according to its latest report. Nigeria and Senegal have recorded a total of eight deaths and 21 cases of infection. |
| The numbers for Sierra Leone come from the Ministry of Health, and diplomats and international health officials say they are largely inaccurate, substantially underplaying the gravity of the situation on the ground. “Even a 2-year-old child can look at them and see they don’t add up,” the Western diplomat here said. | The numbers for Sierra Leone come from the Ministry of Health, and diplomats and international health officials say they are largely inaccurate, substantially underplaying the gravity of the situation on the ground. “Even a 2-year-old child can look at them and see they don’t add up,” the Western diplomat here said. |
| The W.H.O. added a veiled caveat to the statistics in its latest report as in the preceding one, saying that they were “subject to change” because of “ongoing reclassification.” Indeed cemetery workers here in the capital report that Ebola deaths far exceed what the government has so far acknowledged. | The W.H.O. added a veiled caveat to the statistics in its latest report as in the preceding one, saying that they were “subject to change” because of “ongoing reclassification.” Indeed cemetery workers here in the capital report that Ebola deaths far exceed what the government has so far acknowledged. |
| In contrast, in Guinea, the W.H.O. reported, the number of new cases appears to be rising more slowly. | In contrast, in Guinea, the W.H.O. reported, the number of new cases appears to be rising more slowly. |
| “The situation in Guinea, although still of grave concern, appears to have stabilized,” the W.H.O. said, observing that the number of new cases in the capital, Conakry, was moderate and stable. | “The situation in Guinea, although still of grave concern, appears to have stabilized,” the W.H.O. said, observing that the number of new cases in the capital, Conakry, was moderate and stable. |
| The outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal were “pretty much contained,” the health organization’s Africa office reported this week, noting that Senegal had recorded only one case of infection at the end of August, and that Nigeria had not found any new cases since Sept. 8. | The outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal were “pretty much contained,” the health organization’s Africa office reported this week, noting that Senegal had recorded only one case of infection at the end of August, and that Nigeria had not found any new cases since Sept. 8. |
| Streets in Freetown remained uncharacteristically quiet and uncongested for much of the week after the government imposed its national lockdown over the weekend, ordering everyone in the country to remain indoors. An army of volunteers went house to house, trying to educate people about the dangers of Ebola and root out hidden pockets of the disease. | Streets in Freetown remained uncharacteristically quiet and uncongested for much of the week after the government imposed its national lockdown over the weekend, ordering everyone in the country to remain indoors. An army of volunteers went house to house, trying to educate people about the dangers of Ebola and root out hidden pockets of the disease. |
| Officials acknowledge that the economic slowdown because of Ebola continues to bite hard, though there was some return to Freetown’s normal bustle on Thursday. | Officials acknowledge that the economic slowdown because of Ebola continues to bite hard, though there was some return to Freetown’s normal bustle on Thursday. |
| Mr. Koroma pronounced the lockdown a success, saying it had “achieved its objectives.” But with the latest measures, it seemed clear that the government was determined to go further, adding new restrictions to citizens’ movements. | Mr. Koroma pronounced the lockdown a success, saying it had “achieved its objectives.” But with the latest measures, it seemed clear that the government was determined to go further, adding new restrictions to citizens’ movements. |
| With hospital beds well below what are needed for the number of cases, a national health care system that is “invisible,” as one leading foreign medical worker here put it, and the international response only now gearing up, the government here is left to pursue the only means at its disposal: coercion. | With hospital beds well below what are needed for the number of cases, a national health care system that is “invisible,” as one leading foreign medical worker here put it, and the international response only now gearing up, the government here is left to pursue the only means at its disposal: coercion. |
| The president, sounding grim, said in his speech that “the life of everyone and the survival of our country take precedence” over whatever hardships the latest measures might impose. He vowed to “overcome and free our land from this evil virus.” | The president, sounding grim, said in his speech that “the life of everyone and the survival of our country take precedence” over whatever hardships the latest measures might impose. He vowed to “overcome and free our land from this evil virus.” |