EBOLA OUTBREAK — Sierra Leone Law Makes Hiding Patients Illegal While Côte d'Ivoire Closes Its Land Borders; Chad Closes Border With Nigeria

World Health Organization experts say it will take months to bring the outbreak under control

Sierra Leone's parliament has passed a new law making it a criminal offence to shelter Ebola patients.

Those caught face up to two years in prison, the justice minister said. The measure still needs to be approved by the president.

Côte d'Ivoire Flag and Map (Source: Wikipedia.org)

Meanwhile yesterday Côte d'Ivoire became the latest country to close its land borders due to fears over the spreading virus, following the lead of Senegal, Cameroon, Gabon and South Africa, which have imposed similar restrictions.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued updated advice earlier this week which urged travellers to carefully assess their need to travel to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, Mail on Sunday reports.

‘General medical facilities throughout Sierra Leone are currently under severe strain due to the Ebola outbreak, and unable to provide the same standard of healthcare as in the UK. Dedicated healthcare facilities for Ebola are overwhelmed,’ the FCO warned.

British Airways suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone on August 5 until the end of the month over concerns about the outbreak.

The carrier normally operates a four-times-a-week service from Heathrow to Freetown in Sierra Leone, with a connection on to Monrovia in Liberia.

Then the Chadian government has said it will follow in South Africa’s footsteps and introduce travel restrictions to Nigeria and other countries suffering from the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak.

Prime Minister Kalzeubet Payimi Deubet said the country would close its border with Nigeria as part of efforts to prevent Ebola from entering the country.

He said the decision would have an “economic impact” on the region, but it was necessary for “public health needs.”

This announcement by Chad comes after South Africa banned entry to the country to all non-citizens travelling from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, while Liberia has quarantined entire neighbourhoods to try to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

But, the World Health Organisation officials have warned that the suspension of flights and imposition of travel restrictions are unhelpful and could undermine the capacity to respond. While advising countries to perform exit screening at airports, seaports and major border crossings, the WHO is against any ban on international travel or trade.

The Chadian government has said it will follow in South Africa’s footsteps and introduce travel restrictions to Nigeria and other countries suffering from the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak.

Prime Minister Kalzeubet Payimi Deubet said the country would close its border with Nigeria as part of efforts to prevent Ebola from entering the country.

He said the decision would have an “economic impact” on the region, but it was necessary for “public health needs.”

This announcement by Chad comes after South Africa banned entry to the country to all non-citizens travelling from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, while Liberia has quarantined entire neighbourhoods to try to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

But, the World Health Organisation officials have warned that the suspension of flights and imposition of travel restrictions are unhelpful and could undermine the capacity to respond. While advising countries to perform exit screening at airports, seaports and major border crossings, the WHO is against any ban on international travel or trade.