Sierra Leone has started a partial lockdown that will last for fourteen (14) days.
The partial lockdown started on Saturday 11th April 2020 and will end on 25th April 2020.
According to a statement from the press secretary and presidential spokesman of President Julius Maada Bio, Yusuf Keketoma Sandi, the measures will mitigate the continued threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone.
He announced, “A partial lockdown restricting the movement of persons at inter-district levels, except for the transportation of goods and essential services”. A “Pass System” which authorises the transportation of goods and essential services was announced before commencement of the restriction.
The government also announced a night curfew which also started on 11th April and runs from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am every night. Meanwhile, the government’s COVID-19 response team and health partners are encouraging citizens to maintain social distancing, stay home and observe basic hygiene practices.
Speaking during the third press conference on COVID-19 organized by the state house, which was held prior to the announcement of new government measures to curtail the spread of the disease, President Maada Bio said that the 3 day lockdown was a necessary public health intervention to scale up surveillance, contact tracing and testing for all known cases of COVID-19.
“100% of primary contacts for the six known cases were identified, isolated and are now being monitored; nearly 78% of secondary contacts of the six cases were identified and are being monitored; and 205 persons under quarantine were visited by security, psychosocial and surveillance personnel”, the President reported.
The interim national coordinator, Brig Rtd Kellie Conteh, and his team have now provided the government with a comprehensive report for their consideration. “We will predicate all future actions on what we have learned so far”, he noted.
As of 14th April 2020 Sierra Leone has recorded 10 COVID-19 cases with no deaths.