Vice President of Sierra Leone Places Himself Under Ebola Quarantine

With President Ernest Bai Koromoa leaving to attend an EU conference on Ebola, Samuel Sam-Sumana will serve as the acting President of Sierra Leone.

President Ernest Bai Koromoa (left) has left to attend an EU conference in Belgium, leaving Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana (right) in active charge of the country.

Samuel Sam-Sumana, the Vice President of Sierra Leone, has placed himself in a voluntary three-week quarantine after a member of his personal security team died from exposure to Ebola. While he's under quarantine, Sam-Sumana will also serve as the acting President of Sierra Leone because President Ernest Bai Koromoa will be in attendance at an EU conference on Ebola in Belgium.

Sam-Sumana will preside over the country from his home effective tonight, the Associated Press reports. The conference will be held on March 3. 

Sierra Leone recorded 18 new cases of Ebola last week. The week before, there were 16 new reported cases. Sierra Leone is the only country right now that is experiencing more Ebola cases from week to week. In response, President Koromoa has reinstated a travel ban, and a ban on ships coming to shore in the nighttime. 

But contracting Ebola isn't even the only Ebola problem in Sierra Leone right now. In addition to being the only country that is experiencing an uptick in new Ebola cases, Sierra Leone's government has begun investigating how nearly a third of the money it's received to fight Ebola was used without accompanying receipts. The AP reports that $5.7 million in Ebola funds is missing. Obviously, Sierra Leone could use that money right about now, last week, two weeks ago—take your pick. 

Close to 10,000 people have died in West Africa after contracting Ebola.

 

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