Sierra Leone declares a state of emergency

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma has declared a state of emergency, lasting initially between 60 and 90 days, because of the Ebola crisis.    "Sierra Leone is in a great fight ... Failure is not an option," he said,   "Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures."  

President Koroma

He has cancelled a visit to Washington and will meet the leaders of Liberia and Guinea in Conakry on Friday 1st August to discuss the epidemic. 

The state of emergency means that the police and the military can enforce a quarantine on all the epicentres of the disease, and are required to protect health officers from attack by local communities.

House-to-house searches will be implemented to trace Ebola victims and homes where the disease was identified can be quarantined until cleared by medical teams.   

Public meeting have been banned unless related to Ebola. 

Passengers arriving and departing Lungi International Airport will be subject to new protocols, including body temperature scans. However the  international airlines association IATA said the World Health Organisation was not recommending any travel restrictions or border closures due to the outbreak, and there would be a low risk to other passengers if an Ebola patient flew.

A man has his temperature taken at Lungi Airport. Anyone with a temperature of above 101.6F (38.7C) will be prevented from flying. Passengers are also required to wash their hands in chlorinated water.

Ebola has been blamed for 672 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.