Sierra Leone Launches Three-Day Ebola Shutdown

Sierra Leone launched a three-day shutdown Friday, to prevent the spread of  Ebola virus.

A large number of the people remained in their homes after the lockdown, which started at Thursday midnight.

But health professionals and security forces worked as usual as they were exempted from the lockdown.

During the lockdown, nearly 30,000 volunteers will go door-to door to test people for the virus, and to take infected people to treatment centers. They will also hand out 1.5 million bars of soap and educate people on how to prevent Ebola, reports the Associated Press.

Officials said that they expect to discover several new cases of Ebola stricken people during the shutdown.  Many infected people have not gone to hospitals as they think that they are places people go to die. The hospitals also refuse to admit many people because of lack of facilities.

The government said that it had readied treatment centers to admit the large number of people after the shutdown.

"Today the life of everyone is at stake, but we will get over this difficulty if all do what we have been asked to do." Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma said in an address late Thursday, reports AP.

However, critics of the shutdown said that it is futile to do a public information campaign now as most of the population of Sierra Leone is aware of the disease.

Barry Andrews, chief executive of Irish aid agency Goal, said that the shutdown was a badly planned and futile action.

"I'm not sure a public information campaign requires the draconian measure of three days locking six million people into their homes," he said. "It puts terrible pressure on vulnerable people. People who live hand to mouth will find it difficult," he added, reports Reuters.

The humanitarian aid organization Doctors without Borders also criticized the shutdown saying that it will eventually help in spreading the disease further.

The organization said that the measure will drive people underground and will break the trust between the people and health providers.

Many people will then conceal the matter if they are infected, which in turn will spread the disease further, the organization said, reports BBC.