The WHO said it was concerned that families were hiding
infected loved ones in the belief that it will be better if they died at home.
According to the latest figures from the World Health
Organization, 1,350 people are now believed to have died from the Ebola virus, which has been raging in the region since March.
The attorney general announced on Friday,
“A maximum of two years jail term will be imposed on anyone caught hiding somebody who is believed to be infected with the deadly Ebola disease,”
Attorney General Frank Kargbo said after introducing the bill into parliament. With tensions over the outbreak running high, the majority leader of the house, Ibrahim Bundu, criticised neighbouring countries that he said had abandoned Sierra Leone.
“We are appalled by the slow pace of response by some of our development partners and the abandonment and isolation from those we viewed and believed to be our biggest friends at sub-regional, regional and global levels,” he said in a statement.
He called the cancellation of flights and closing of borders to
contain the virus “ugly developments” that were leading to
further isolation and causing businesses to shut down “at the time of greatest need”.
He said Sierra Leone would be reviewing its relations with
countries that the government felt had snubbed their cries for help.
