Sierra Leone declares Ebola lockdown

• From 19 to 21 Sept people will not be allowed to leave their homes
• The outbreak has killed about 2,100 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria

Freetown: Sierra Leone one of the countries worst hit by West Africa's Ebola outbreak - has announced a three-day lockdown to try to tackle the disease.

From 19 to 21 September people will not be allowed to leave their homes, a senior official said. The aim of the move is to allow health workers to isolate new cases to prevent the disease from spreading further. The outbreak has killed about 2,100 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria in recent months.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday that health workers could be given vaccines as from November, when safety tests are completed. More than 20 health workers have lost their lives to the virus in Sierra Leone since the start of the outbreak in March.

An adviser to Sierra Leone's president said the lockdown could help stop the spread of the virus in the country for good. He said more than 20,000 people would be deployed to make sure residents stayed indoors.

The population's willingness to obey will be key for it to succeed - a forcible implementation is likely to raise human rights issues.