Category Archives: Guinea

Protests Erupt in Guinea’s Capital

On Monday, anti-government activists staged new protests following deadly clashes that erupted last week.

Guinean security forces took to the streets of the capital Conakry on Monday as new protests were launched. Calling for a disputed election timetable to be dismissed, hundreds of youths burnt tyres and barricaded roads across the capital city. Police officers responded with tear gas, which led to brief clashes erupting between the protesters and policemen. In a statement released late Monday, the government disclosed that a trainee policeman, who was apparently shot by protesters, had been seriously wounded, adding that two demonstrators were arrested after they caused extensive damage.

Former Prime Minister Sidya Toure, of the Union of Republic Forces (UFR), however claimed “another very successful day for the opposition, which has paralyzed the entire city.”   UFR officials indicated that police had fired tear gas at their headquarters as the protesters got underway, with one official indicating that pro-government demonstrators threw stones at the UFR building while police stood by. Toure later stated that “as soon as demonstrations start in Conakry, they always start by hitting the UFR headquarters with tear gas to prevent us from mobilising and going out.” He further indicated that the authorities were desperate to avoid demonstrations on the nearby Fidel Castro highway as “if this route is blocked as well as the Prince highway, its finished for Conakry.”

In a statement released early Monday, Governor Soriba Sorel Camara stated that he expected that the Guinean opposition would be “throwing stones, dumping garbage and burning tyres on public roads,” noting that protests were going ahead despite the capital city still being affected by the Ebola outbreak. Camara called on residents of Conakry to “go about their usual activities,” adding that the state would ensure their safety and secure their property.

Schools, shops and petrol stations remained closed across the capital on Monday, with the Prince highway, which is the main route from the suburbs into central Conakry, almost deserted.

The violence comes after a Guinean government delegation met with opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo for talks at his home on Sunday. A statement released by the delegation indicated, “this step was intended to reiterate to the opposition the government’s willingness to revive the dialogue – the only route that ends with a calmer political climate and inclusive elections.” While Diallo confirmed late Sunday that he had received a group of senior officials, he warned that cancelling Monday’s protests was “out of the question” without the guaranteed implementation of a 2013 agreement stipulating that local elections take place before a presidential contest announced for October.

Diallo’s supporters claim that the electoral timetable was pushed through without consultations and that it gives the ruling party an unfair advantage. They have also blamed President Alpha Conde’s government on the current fragile security situation in the West African country.

Monday’s protests follow violence that erupted last Monday and Tuesday, which saw hundreds of youths throwing stones at police, who responded with tear gas and warning shots. At the time, the opposition indicated that thee people were killed, including an unidentified young girl, and that 50 were wounded during the clashes, with at least 12 wounded by gunfire. The government however placed the number of dead ad two, with dozens injured.

Lowest Number of New Ebola Cases Recorded Since May 2014

According to the latest figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO) this week, data shows the lowest weekly cases of Ebola since May 2014.

In the week leading up to 5 April, a total of 30 confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) were recorded. This is the lowest weekly total since the third week of May 2014. Of the total 55 districts in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone that have reported at least one confirmed case of EVD since the outbreak began, 35 have not reported a case in over six weeks.

While Liberia and Sierra Leone have begun to decommission some treatment centres, the WHO has warned that there has been an increase in unsafe burials, particularly in Guinea, which could lead to more cases.

There have been a total of 25,515 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of EVD in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 10,572 deaths. In the past 21 days, a total of 191 EVD cases were recorded in the three countries.

Liberia

Since recording one Ebola case in late March, Liberia has not recorded any new cases of the deadly disease since. The last confirmed case passed away on 27 March and Liberia is currently conducting the 42-day countdown to being officially declared free of the disease.

Guinea

Guinea recorded 21 cases of EVD during this reporting period, compared to 57 confirmed the previous week. A total of six Guinean prefectures reported at least one confirmed case of EVD during this reporting period, a decline from the 7 prefectures that reported a case in the previous week. Affected prefectures are in the western area and include the capital city Conakry, which recorded 8 confirmed cases during this reporting period. The nearby prefectures of Coyah (1 case), Dubreka (1 case); Forecariah (6 cases), Fria (1 case) and Kindia (4 cases) also reported cases.

Sierra Leone 

Sierra Leone reported a fifth consecutive weekly decrease from 25 confirmed cases in the week leading to 29 March, to 9 during this reporting period. Over this reporting period, Sierra Leone reported zero cases on 3 days.

Cases were reported in four western districts: Kambia (2 cases), Port Loko (1 case), Western Area Rural (1 case) and Western Area Urban (5 cases), which includes the capital city Freetown.

Ebola Situation Update (18 March 2015)

In total, there have been 24,701 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with 10,194 deaths reported.

In the seven days leading up to 15 March, a total of 150 new confirmed cases of EVD were reported, compared with 116 that were reported in the previous week. Guinea reported 95 new confirmed cases, the highest weekly total for the country this year. Sierra Leone reported 55 new confirmed cases over the same period, which is the country’s lowest weekly total since late June 2014. Liberia reported no new confirmed cases of EVD for the third consecutive week.

A total of twelve districts in Guinea and neighbouring Sierra Leone reported a confirmed case during this reporting period. According to officials, all these districts lie on a “geographically contiguous arc in and around Conakry to the north and Freetown to the south.” While transmission is currently confined to this geographic corridor, the population is this region is highly mobile and there is a great deal of movement throughout the surrounding districts and countries.

Guinea

In the week leading up to 15 March, 95 confirmed cases of EVD were reported, compared with 58 that were reported in the week before.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) officials, the current transmission has been confined to an area in and around the capital city Conakry (25 confirmed cases) as well as the nearby prefectures of Boffa (3 cases), Coyah (20 cases), Dubreka (2 cases), Forecariah (42 cases), and Kindia (3 cases). 

Sierra Leone 

In the seven days leading up to 15 March, Sierra Leone reported a total of 55 confirmed cases of EVD, compared with 58 that were reported in the previous week.

Cases were reported from six northern and western districts in and around the capital city Freetown, which reported 29 new confirmed cases during this reporting period. The following neighbouring districts also reported cases: Bombali (6 cases), Kambia (4 cases), Port Loko (11 cases) and Western Rural (3 cases).

Liberia

No counties in Liberia have reported a confirmed case of EVD within the past 21 days.

The 15^th of March was day 12 since the final patient in Liberia tested negative for EVD for a second time. Forty-two days must pass before transmission can be considered to have ended and Liberia can be declared Ebola-free, however an additional period of heightened vigilance will be required in order to aid in preventing another outbreak.

Liberia Reports No New Ebola Cases for More Than Two Weeks

World Health Organization (WHO) officials disclosed Wednesday that Liberia has not registered any new Ebola cases since 19 February, adding that there have also been some improving signs in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone.

According to latest figures released by the WHO, since the outbreak began in December 2013, 24,282 people in nine countries have been infected with the virus and 9,976 of them have died. All but fifteen of those deaths occurred in the three West African countries. In the week leading up to 8 March, a total of 116 new confirmed cases of Ebola were reported, compared with 132 that were registered in the previous week.

Liberia

The tide in Liberia, which six months ago was reporting more than 300 new cases per week, appears to have turned. According to Bruce Aylward, who heads the WHO’s Ebola response, Liberia “has now gone well over two weeks without a new reported case.” Last week, the West African nation released its last confirmed Ebola patient, who had tested negative for the deadly virus for the second time on 3 March. On 4 March, Liberia effectively began its 42-day, or two incubation-period, countdown towards being considered Ebola-free. Liberia has been one of the hardest hit countries in the Ebola epidemic and still counts the most deaths in the outbreak, at 4,162.

Guinea and Sierra Leone

While neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to report new cases, Aylward has highlighted some positive signs.

In the week leading up to 8 March, Guinea reported 58 new confirmed cases, compared with 51 cases that were reported in the previous week. Cases were clustered in an area in and around the capital city Conakry (13 cases) as well as in the nearby prefectures of Boffa (2 cases), Coyah (8 cases), Dubreka (5 cases); Forecariah (28 cases) and Kindia (2 cases). In the forest region of Guinea, where the deadly outbreak first began 15 months ago, no new cases have been reported in the last ten days.

While in Sierra Leone, which currently counts the most cases of the virus at 11,619, only 58 new confirmed cases were reported over the last week – the lowest number to be reported since June 2014. Eighty-one cases were reported in the previous week. Cases were reported in 5 northern and western districts located around the capital Freetown, which reported 27 new confirmed cases. The neighbouring districts of Bombali (6 cases), Kambia (7 cases), Port Loko (12 cases) and Western Rural (6 cases). With the exception of 4 districts in the southern region of the country, all districts in Sierra Leone have reported a confirmed case of Ebola over the past 21 days.

Officials at the WHO have warned that while they are seeing improvements in Guinea and Sierra Leone, if international attention, determination and funding to end the outbreak declines, “there is a huge risk of failing to do so.” Furthermore, continued resistance within some communities in Sierra Leone and Guinea is also threatening progress. WHO officials have noted that in both countries, some Ebola patients are still not being isolated and treated while some unsafe burials are still going on.

Liberia Records No New Cases of Ebola

Liberia has released its last Ebola patient as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the West African country has gone a week without reporting any new Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) cases.

Beatrice Yardolo, 58, has been released from a Chinese-run treatment centre in the capital Monrovia’s Paynesville district after receiving two weeks of treatment. She was the last patient undergoing treatment for the disease in Liberia.

According to new figures released by the WHO this week, there were 132 new cases reported in Guinea and Sierra Leone in the week leading up to 1 March. For the first time since May 2014, Liberia reported no new cases of the deadly virus. While the West African country has now effectively begun its count towards being declared Ebola-free, WHO officials have warned that due to populations being mobile in the region, there could easily be a new outbreak in Liberia. According to WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl, “we look at the three countries as really a single country, so while its good news that Liberia itself has no new cases, the populations are so mobile in that region that there could easily be re-importations of cases… We have to get down to zero in all three countries before we can consider the thing beaten.”

In the week leading up to 1 March, Sierra Leone registered 81 new confirmed cases, up from the 65 that were reported the week before. According to the WHO, transmission in the country “remains widespread,” with officials highlighting that new cases emerged in eight different districts across the country, with rising numbers in the capital city Freetown, as well as in the Western Rural district and in the northern district of Bombali. WHO officials have indicated that the outbreak in Bombali is reportedly linked to a cluster of cases in the Aberdeen fishing community in Freetown. Efforts are currently underway in order to trace over 2,000 contacts associated with that cluster.

Last week, Guinea registered 51 new confirmed cases of EVD, marking a significant increase from the 35 new cases that had been reported during the previous seven-day period. The country, which in total has recorded 3,219 cases and 2,129 deaths, also saw an increase in the number of new cases recorded in the capital city Conakry and in the nearby district of Forecariah.

The WHO has reported that over the past week, both Guinea and Sierra Leone continued to see high numbers of people dying of Ebola in their communities, “suggesting that the need for early isolation and treatment is not yet understood, accepted or acted upon.” More than half of the 32 confirmed Ebola deaths recorded in Guinea over the last week occurred in the community rather than in treatment centres, while 16 percent did in Sierra Leone. WHO officials have also noted that unsafe burials continue to be a problem in the two West African countries, with 16 registered in the last week.

Since the outbreak began in December 2013, 23,969 people in nine countries have been infected with the virus, and 9,807 have died.