HIGHLIGHTS
In an effort to mitigate EVD transmission, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) initiated a temporary lockdown in Sierra Leone’s Northern Province on December 25.
A USAID/OFDA partner opened a new EVD treatment unit (ETU) in Liberia’s Sinje town, Grand Cape Mount County, on December 29.
Regional EVD specimen testing capacity has increased with the opening of a USG-supported laboratory in Liberia and Belgian-run laboratory in Guinea, according to the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
On December 25, the GoSL instated a five-day lockdown in Sierra Leone’s Northern Province—comprising Bombali, Kambia, Koinadugu, Port Loko, and Tonkolili districts—to bolster EVD containment efforts. The lockdown is limiting population movements, closing markets and shops, restricting public gatherings, and preventing all travel not related to the EVD response.
On December 29, the ETU in Grand Cape Mount’s Sinje town, Liberia, opened with an initial 10 beds. Managed by USAID/OFDA partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Sinje ETU will significantly aid relief actor efforts to address the county’s high EVD caseload.
On December 24, USAID/OFDA partner Global Communities conducted the first ten burials at Liberia’s new national cemetery. Safe and dignified burials are a vital component of the EVD response in Liberia, according to health actors.