FREETOWN, JANUARY 6, 2015, (CISA) – Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma on January 1 asked the country to begin a week of fasting and prayers to end the Ebola virus that has killed more than 2,900 of his countrymen.
“Today I ask all to commit our actions to the grace, mercy and protection of God Almighty,” said President Koroma in a New Year’s Day broadcast, adding the seven days of prayers and fasting would begin immediately.
President Koroma also said schools – which have been shut since July 2014 to curb the spread of the virus – would reopen soon, reported Reuters.
Many schools are being used as Ebola holding centres, raising questions as to how soon they will be able to reopen.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst in history of the virus is still spreading especially in Sierra Leone, and the number of known cases globally has exceeded 20,000.
Sierra Leone is the worst-hit country in West Africa with more than 9,000 Ebola cases with the number of infections continuing to grow.
Statistics form WHO in conjunction with Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) also states that as of January 3, the death toll from the outbreak, which has been mostly confined to West Africa, has risen to 8,153.
