Sierra Leone Telegraph: 22 April 2020:
The number of people confirmed as COVID-19 positive in Sierra Leone has jumped to 61, after eleven cases were reported in the last twenty-four hours. The government may take some comfort from this steady increase, which is far below those recorded in neighbouring Liberia and Guinea, where the virus is wreaking immense havoc in poor communities.
This relatively slow rate of increase in the number of confirmed cases in Sierra Leone, shows that the rate and speed of community transmission is much lower than in neighbouring Liberia and Guinea; with Guinea today recording over 70 new cases bringing its total number of COVID-19 positives to 761, and Liberia – a total of 101.
There are unconfirmed reports of the death today at the military hospital in Freetown of a 57 year-old lady.
According to the government of Sierra Leone, a total of 55 infected persons are in isolation centres where they are being observed.
So far, 1,226 people have been discharged from quarantine, with 608 still remaining.
Following health workers’ demands for better conditions of service and benefits in recognition of the dangerous task they are faced with in caring for the sick, the government has today made the following announcement:
Lockdown Freetown! Stop traffic from coming in and out of Freetown.