Ebola cases rise again in Sierra Leone due to unsafe burials

来源:新华网
2015-02-26 18:50:18

  FREETOWN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- CEO of Sierra Leone's National Ebola Response Center on Wednesday expressed his dismay of the rising rate in the number of Ebola cases in the country in the past couple of days.

  Addressing the press, Pallo Conteh noted that for the past days the rate of infection have risen with the country "recording double digits - 16, 15 and 14 for three consecutive days this week".

  This increase is coming at a time when the country had reached its lowest case numbers of 2, 4 and 5 in the preceding week.

  The CEO attributed the rise to people continuing to flout the laws "with impunity."

  "We have started seeing an increase in unsafe burial activities, particularly in the western area and other districts in the country," said Conteh.

  He mentioned that funeral homes are in the habit of issuing certificates from medical facilities that allow them to embark on unsafe burials.

  He warned all districts' medical officers, District Ebola Response Coordinators, Heads of Hospitals and other related institutions to desist from issuing certificates that will allow people to embark on unsafe burials.

  Pallo Conteh stressed that "we must be 100 percent compliant, we cannot afford one unsafe burial now."

  He warmed that "any one who fails to comply will be held personally responsible and face severe consequences."

  "Ebola stops with me," he went on noting that "we should all have the confidence, discipline and self respect to say this."

  The CEO admonished all his compatriots that "as we all know, the misguided or deceitful actions of just one person can result in the infection of many people."

  Commenting on the zero rate infection the CEO said "getting to zero will not happen until we put a stop to reckless behavior by a small minority of people."