--- title: Sierra Leone Declares 5-Day Lockdown in Ebola-Hit North description: Christmas celebrations are excepted in the latest measure to contain the epidemic canonical: https://time.com/3647049/christmas-aside-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-lockdown-in-ebola-hit-north/ author: Per Liljas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-25T05:02:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:07:45.330Z article:section: Health og:title: Sierra Leone Declares 5-Day Lockdown in Ebola-Hit North og:description: Christmas celebrations are excepted in the latest measure to contain the epidemic og:url: https://time.com/3647049/christmas-aside-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-lockdown-in-ebola-hit-north/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb07cbb3592c15780/69877740a988cab96d6ab99e/454292290.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sierra Leone Declares 5-Day Lockdown in Ebola-Hit North twitter:description: Christmas celebrations are excepted in the latest measure to contain the epidemic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb07cbb3592c15780/69877740a988cab96d6ab99e/454292290.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Christmas Aside, Sierra Leone Declares Five-Day Lockdown in Ebola-Hit North by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Dec 25, 2014 5:02 AM CUT  A soldier inspects a woman with an infrared thermometer for signs of fever, one of the symptoms of Ebola, at a check point in Nikabo, a village in Kenema, Sierra Leone on August 27, 2014. A soldier inspects a woman with an infrared thermometer for signs of fever, one of the symptoms of Ebola, at a check point in Nikabo, a village in Kenema, Sierra Leone on August 27, 2014.Mohammed Elshamy—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Dec 25, 2014 5:02 AM CUT The northern parts of Sierra Leone will be [locked down](http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-ebola-lockdown-in-north-2014-12 "undefined") for five days as a measure to contain the Ebola epidemic, with Christmas celebrations being the only exception. “Muslims and Christians are not allowed to hold services in mosques and churches throughout the lockdown except for Christians on Christmas Day (Thursday),” Alie Kamara, resident minister for the Northern Region, told Agence France-Presse. Shops and markets will be closed and “no unauthorised vehicles or motorcycle taxis” will be allowed to circulate “except those officially assigned to Ebola-related assignment,” said Kamara. Sierra Leone recently overtook Liberia as the country with the highest number of Ebola infections, in an epidemic that has killed more than 7,500 people, mainly in west Africa. Sierra Leone Deputy Communication Minister Theo Nicol said that the lockdown “is meant for us to get an accurate picture of the situation,” adding: “Other districts will carry on with their own individual lockdown after this if they deemed it necessary.” Six of the country’s 14 departments have restrictions on the movement of people, and the government has announced a restriction on large Christmas and New Year gatherings. \[[_AFP_](http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-ebola-lockdown-in-north-2014-12 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3647049/christmas-aside-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-lockdown-in-ebola-hit-north/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3647049/christmas-aside-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-lockdown-in-ebola-hit-north/"},"headline":"Christmas Aside, Sierra Leone Declares Five-Day Lockdown in Ebola-Hit North","datePublished":"2014-12-25T05:02:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:07:45.330Z","description":"Christmas celebrations are excepted","url":"https://time.com/3647049/christmas-aside-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-lockdown-in-ebola-hit-north/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","Sierra Leone","ebola"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb07cbb3592c15780/69877740a988cab96d6ab99e/454292290.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb07cbb3592c15780/69877740a988cab96d6ab99e/454292290.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone","caption":"Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone","creditText":"Mohammed Elshamy—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3647049/christmas-aside-sierra-leone-declares-five-day-lockdown-in-ebola-hit-north/","name":"Christmas Aside, Sierra Leone Declares Five-Day Lockdown in Ebola-Hit North"}}]}] ```