On 3 February 33 contacts were discharge from quarantine following the Ebola event that began on 14 January of this year. Their discharge after only three weeks from the confirmation of the index case on 14 January proves that this response did exactly what it was supposed to do – the rapid containment of infection to prevent further spread. The rapid identification and monitoring of contacts in quarantine was key. Four people remain in quarantine in Tonkolili until  11 February.

3 February also marks the beginning of a critical next phase to find and account for the 48 missing contacts in Kambia. There will be no punishment. We simply need to account for them to assure that they and their families are well.

If any of them has been sick, then we will need to find out who their contacts were and also monitor them for 21 days since their last exposure.

In the continued absence of the missing contacts and information about their health during the 21 days after their contact with the index case, we need to increase live and death alerts to ensure that we are not missing any hidden transmission chain in the communities.

Enhanced community involvement has always been a backbone in the fight against Ebola, this remains the case. There is also need to intensify case search in health facilities and communities, immediate response to reported live and death alerts, and prompt testing of specimens from live and death alerts. A clear strategy has been developed to guide districts on how to achieve this.

In addition, in the coming 21 to 42 days, we need to strengthen surveillance efforts to identify and investigate all patients with symptoms meeting the case definition (live alerts) in the hospitals and communities, and to investigate all deaths in Kambia, and indeed in all districts, to rule out EVD. This is very important.

Forty two (42) days after the 2nd negative test of the confirmed case currently recovering at Military 34 hospital, we will now continue surveillance under the revitalized integrated disease surveillance framework to make sure that mechanisms to detect any risks remain robust. In addition all deaths will continue to be swabbed and tested to rule out EVD till June 2016. At this point, a review will be conducted and the MoHS advised accordingly on the appropriate course of action.

Ebola is real. It has killed thousands and destroyed families and entire communities in Sierra Leone. And while transmission was halted once, we know we must remain prepared to fight it should it rear its head again, as it has done on two flares in neighbouring Liberia and also in other countries.

You as the media have a special responsibility. To tell the stories of Ebola, and also to keep us on our toes. If something goes wrong, it must be fixed. Also tell the facts, what can people do to protect themselves and their families. Help fight the fear by arming people with facts.

What this case has illustrated is the fact that even after controlling one outbreak we need to maintain high level of vigilance as the risk of flare up of EVD still exists. It is important to adhere to the safety measures of reporting the sick or referring them to the nearest health facility as well as notification of all deaths so that a swab can be taken.

The swift Response of the MoHS and partners to the recent cases coupled with the support of the communities has shown that we have learnt from past experiences and with everyone’s cooperation we can stop any transmission in the area where it is first detected before it spreads throughout the country.