World

An Ebola Quarantine In Freetown: People Come And Go As They Wish

By Tommy Trenchard

Published August 4, 2014 at 4:33 PM CDT

1 of 6 — A neighbor talks to one of the two policemen assigned to enforce the quarantine of Sule Koroma's house in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

A neighbor talks to one of the two policemen assigned to enforce the quarantine of Sule Koroma's house in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

2 of 6 — Members of the Koroma family relax Sunday at their quarantined home in Freetown.

Members of the Koroma family relax Sunday at their quarantined home in Freetown.

3 of 6 — Police officers stand by as people visit the quarantined family on Sunday.

Police officers stand by as people visit the quarantined family on Sunday.

4 of 6 — Saudatu Koroma's mother, Hana Conteh (right), leaves the quarantined house to collect water, while her father, Mohamed Koroma (center), returns.

Saudatu Koroma's mother, Hana Conteh (right), leaves the quarantined house to collect water, while her father, Mohamed Koroma (center), returns.

5 of 6 — When Sule Koroma's sister Saudatu died of Ebola, his house in Freetown was put under a 21-day quarantine. The government sent two policeman to guard the house.

When Sule Koroma's sister Saudatu died of Ebola, his house in Freetown was put under a 21-day quarantine. The government sent two policeman to guard the house.

6 of 6 — Sule Koroma displays a photo of his sister taken days before she died of Ebola.

Sule Koroma displays a photo of his sister taken days before she died of Ebola.

Update on Aug. 5 at 6:25 p.m. ET: More On Quarantines

Photographer Tommy Trenchard discussed more about what he has seen in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with NPR's Audie Cornish on All Things Considered.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is spreading at an alarming rate. The death toll rose Monday to 900 when the World Health Organization reported 61 new deaths across four countries.

Here in the U.S., an American doctor is being treated for Ebola at an Atlanta hospital. And doctors in New York City are testing a man, who visited West Africa last month, for the virus at Mount Sinai Medical Center, the Associated Press reported Monday.

But Sierra Leone is one of the nations hardest hit by the outbreak. The country has reported more than 600 Ebola cases since late May.

In response, Sierra Leone's president declared a state of emergency Wednesday and announced a series of hard-line measures designed to stop the spread of the disease. Among them was a 21-day quarantine on all homes exposed to the virus. Hundreds of military members were deployed Monday to enforce the quarantine.

But when I visited one of these homes in Sierra Leone's capital city, Freetown, the atmosphere appeared relaxed. The home was guarded by only two police officers. People seemed to come and go as they pleased.

Sule Koroma and his family were placed under quarantine after his sister Saudatu Koroma died of Ebola in late July. She was the first resident in Freetown to test positive for the virus. And when Saudatu's family forcibly took her out of the city's hospital it triggered a manhunt.

Police eventually found Saudatu seeking treatment from a traditional healer. The police sent her to an Ebola clinic in Kenema because there wasn't one in Freetown — a city with more than 1 million people.

When we arrived at Sule Koroma's home on Sunday, the two police officers stood by idly as the family chatted with neighbors. Family members wandered in and out of the house, as they wished. And at least three guests were inside the quarantined home.

The family believes it was a witch that killed Saudatu. Her parents said they held her body in their arms as an ambulance carried her to the clinic in Kenema. So they may have caught Ebola, although so far they have no symptoms.

Despite the state of emergency in Sierra Leone, the streets around the Koroma household have changed very little in the past few weeks. A few people are wearing rubber gloves as a precaution. And more people are beginning to acknowledge that Ebola may, after all, be a real disease. But for the most part, life continues as normal around here.

To learn more about the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, listen to NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton's report on All Things Considered.