Following the World Health Organization's (WHO) official declaration that Sierra Leone is now Ebola free, hundreds of citizens cannot contain their joy. Since the outbreak began in May 2014, 3,955 people from Sierra Leone died from Ebola. But at the stroke of midnight on Nov. 7, the country had not declared a single new case for 42 days straight.
Thousands reportedly took to the streets of Freetown to celebrate as hope looms over the horizon that the country's health, as well as economic situation can now begin to improve as tourism picks up in the coming months.
To add to the celebrations, Sierra Leonean rappers, Block Jones and the Freetown Uncut Collective, have recorded a video for their new song, "By Bye Ebola." And it's catchy!
The three minute video for the optimistic tune is filled with smiling faces. Many are proudly holding up their certificates for a clean bill of health. Some scenes also show health worker dancing in now empty makeshift clinics and camps that used to conduct tests for Ebola or house Ebola patients. You can even see their beaming smiles behind their white medical masks.
Even police in their uniforms shows twerking at checkpoints that were set up to prevent the spread of the disease via people travelling in and out of Sierra Leone.
Watching the video, one can't help but feel the elation in the hearts and spirits of the Sierra Leoneans and we can't help also but sing along with them, "Now watch me do Azonto!"
Azonto is a West African dance that has gained popularity on the internet due to homemade videos shared mostly from Ghana.
Although the people of Sierra Leone are certainly happy to be celebrating a return to normalcy in their lives post-Ebola, the non-profit organization, Doctor Without Borders, still warns that the threat of a resurgence is still very real and it's still too early to let their guard down.
"As long as Ebola remains on the doorstep of Sierra Leone, the risk of new cases in the country will exist. Vigilance and the capacity to respond quickly to eventual cases must be maintained not only in Sierra Leone, but across the West African Region," they warned.
Sierra Leone still maintains strict screening procedures at its shared border with Guinea which still has a few reported cases of Ebola.
Nevertheless, Sierra Leonians are glad to be singing "Bye Bye Ebola" and dancing Azonto on the streets. And we are happy to celebrate along with them.
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