The authorities in Sierra Leone are
enforcing a three-day lockdown to curb the spread of Ebola, with the
entire population ordered to stay at home.
There is a two-hour exemption on Friday to allow Muslim prayers and a five-hour window for Christians on Sunday.Volunteers are going door-to-door, looking for people with signs of the disease and reminding others how to stay safe.
Dozens of new cases are still being reported in Sierra Leone every week.
However, the three West African countries worst affected by Ebola - Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea - have seen a steep reduction in infections in recent weeks.
Journalist Umaru Fofana in Freetown says the normally bustling streets in the east end of the capital Freetown was deserted first thing in the morning, except for a few children fetching water in jerry cans.
The nationwide lockdown was needed because "complacency has set in - people seemed to relax", the spokesperson for Sierra Leone's National Ebola Response Centre, Sidi Yahya Tunis, told the BBC's Newsday programme.
"We want to re-energise people's commitment to the fight against Ebola," he said.
Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea have set a target of having no new cases by the middle of next month.
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