By Tony Yayo
Tension is mounting at a camp in the Northern Town of Lungi where travellers from foreign countries are quarantined for a specified period.
The quarantine service is a Corona Virus preventive measure as it is expected that signs and symptoms of Corona Virus will show in those infected with the virus during the period.
Some Sierra Leoneans who returned home from various countries through Lungi international airport are stuck in filthy coronavirus quarantine camps with limited medical care.
Currently, about 30 people are quarantined within Lungi community.
The fear of squalid conditions at the Lungi airport and Harmony hotels is also high.
The situation is now a cause for concerns for health and security officials.
The quarantined travellers recently protested against unsatisfactory conditions in the quarantine camp while others escaped to unknown places.
Speaking to this press via social media, one of the camp’s residents, Mariatu Bangura complained about the camp’s poor status.
“The quarantine facility lacks running water, good toilet facilities, electricity and good food,” she pointed out.
Mallay Betty Braima is the public relations officer at the Sierra Leone Airport Authority. When contacted in respect of the conditions complained by the detainees she assured the detainees of government’s readiness to address their concerns.
However, it is not clear, according to Braima, whether the problem of electricity would be addressed to an appreciable level in the quarantine facility.
“The country as a whole is struggling with providing twenty-four-hour electricity at the hotel,” she said.
“Changing their TV Channels and other extra costs is really high and a challenge to the government,” she emphasised.
The problems, Braima said, arose because some detainees frowned against quarantine service.
“The camp is not an isolation centre but a quarantine centre where health officials do only monitoring and temperature checks,” Braima explained.
Responding to the feeding problem at the quarantine camp, the PRO said the nutritionists had grouped the detainees on a menu agreed by the passengers.