Eight months: Schools in Sierra Leone had been closed for eight long months for health reasons. The Ebola virus, which made its big comeback in West Africa in March 2014, had indeed pushed the government to send all schoolchildren home, so as not to worsen the situation in the country.
Back to school in March
But this Wednesday, January 21, President Ernest Bai Koroma announced the reopening of schools in March. The epidemic, which has nevertheless killed 8,626 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia (source: WHO), is indeed in a waning phase and clinical trials of the vaccine began at the beginning of January.
“We will do everything to make our schools safe,” said Dr Minkailu Bah, Minister of Health. The government plans to train teachers to use thermometers to regularly take the temperature of schoolchildren: fever is indeed one of the first symptoms of this deadly disease.
Infographic: we explain everything about the Ebola virus.
Also discover a Mooc to understand everything about this epidemic.
