Resident minister for the northern region Alieu Kamara said Wednesday that the lockdown was meant to intensify¹ the containment² of the Ebola virus and help stop the spread of the disease. 

 

Markets and shops will be closed and all vehicular traffic will be banned except for authorized³ vehicles, according to the minister. 

 

Inter-district and inter-chiefdom movements will also be banned. 

 

Christian⁴ and Muslim services are not allowed in mosques⁵ and churches during the lockdown, except for Christmas Day services on December 25, said the minister. 

 

Local reporters said that most people seem to be in favor of the restrictions⁶, noting that if this is the price people have to pay for eradicating⁷ Ebola, so be it. 

 

However, a few residents oppose the restrictions, saying their rights are infringed⁸. 

 

The lockdown comes after the northern and western parts of the country became hotspots of the disease. The two regions account for two thirds of the Ebola cases reported from Sierra Leone.