House searches have begun in Siera Leone as officials step up efforts to stamp out the Ebola epidemic in the country.
Ebola surveillance teams searched for sick people in Sierra Leone’s capital of Freetown, and President Ernest Bai Koromo announced the launch of “Operation Western Area Surge,” which include new restrictions on the movement and gatherings of people to slow the disease, according to the Associated Press.
Koroma said that beds, labs, and ambulances were standing by to handle anyone found with the disease. He also took the step of banning Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.
He said that while he was sympathetic that residents wanted to celebrate the holidays by attending joyous parties with families, they “all must be reminded that our country is at war with a vicious enemy,” he was quoted in the report as saying.
Sierra Leone has taken a number of measures to combat Ebola, which has killed thousands since the outbreak began earlier this year. The nation has attempted to quarantine “hot spots” and at one point locked down the entire country, but it was not enough to keep the disease from spreading.
Despite the restrictions, people will be able to leave their homes during the operation, which will last two weeks.
About 18,500 people have fallen ill to Ebola, but the outbreak is not as fierce as it once was, and infection rates are starting to stabilize in Guinea and Liberia, the other two nations most badly hit by Ebola.
Tom Frieden, who is head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he does not see a need for U.S. troops in Sierra Leone. Troops have been building treatment centers in Liberia, and British troops have been assisting in Sierra Leone.
Even those who haven’t fallen ill to Ebola have been hit hard in those three countries. The disease has caused the economies of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to struggle, causing food shortages that could threaten more than 1 million people by March, according to the United Nations.
