The Sierra Leone government has issued a law prohibiting citizens from conducting and participating in gatherings for this coming holiday season, the Washington Post reported.
The ban was imposed as an effort to prevent more people from contracting the Ebola virus. The government fears that there will be an increase in the number of Ebola patients in Sierra Leone due to people's traditional practices during the holidays.
According to Defense Minister Palo Conteh, the law will be strictly enforced by the country's military. This means that on Christmas and New Year, soldiers will be deployed in different parts of the West African country to ensure that no public gatherings are taking place.
"No Christmas and New Year celebrations this year," Conteh announced on Friday according to AFP.
"We will ensure that everybody remains at home to reflect on Ebola," he added. "Military personnel will be in the streets at Christmas and the New Year to stop any street celebrations."
Conteh did not provide additional information regarding the extent of the ban after the holiday season but government sources claimed specific details of the edict will be announced in the coming days, according to the Daily Mail.
The ban on Christmas and New Year public celebrations is the Sierra Leone government's latest actions to stop the spread of the Ebola virus.
Sierra Leone has recently been named as the country with the most number of people infected with the Ebola virus. In the last three weeks alone, the country has reported the number of cases increased by over 1,300.
Like other countries with numerous reported cases of Ebola infections like Guinea and Liberia, government authorities in Sierra Leone have already ordered schools to remain closed for health and safety reasons, The Guardian reported.
Other public establishments such as bars and sports arenas were also shut down to limit the physical interaction of people.
In addition, the military has imposed curfews and increased the number of checkpoints in order to restrict the movement of people. The increased military presence is also meant to deter people from entering quarantined areas.
