Ebola Ambulances

There's a new thing in Sierra Leone - the Ebola Ambulance......

 

It used to be that the only time a siren was heard was if a vehicle was carrying a corpse........nowadays if you hear a siren you know it's an Ebola Ambulance

 

It gave me quite a jolt the first time I saw one......the driver and passenger both wearing white hooded suits and masks.......unfortunately now it's become an everyday occurrence.

When  a siren is heard people stop for a second to try to judge how close it is........then say 'Ebola' then carry on with what they were doing. If you happen to be driving and hear a siren you give way quick! I have seen a few parked outside residences, picking up patients or corpses.....they always draw a crowd - who stand and watch the proceedings from what they consider to be a safe distance.

 

During the 2 minutes silence on Remembrance Sunday the only sound to be heard was the Ebola ambulance sirens in the background - it was quite chilling.

Imagine how scary it must be if you or someone you love is sick and one of these ambulances comes - these strange looking people turn up covered head to toe with hooded suits, masks, gloves, goggles. The sick are put in the back of one of these ambulances and whizzed off - that could be the last time the family see the person who is sick if they succumb to the virus.

 

A couple of months ago we might hear one or two of these ambulances a day......now it's many many more - there are more ambulances in the country now - but there is also more Ebola

 

Where I was in the UK recently for a few weeks it took me a while to get used to hearing sirens again without saying to myself "Ebola"