SIERRA LEONE – Sierra Leonean Vice President Samuel Sam-Samana has quarantined himself out of fears that he might have exposed himself to Ebola following the death of one of his security aids from the disease last week.

Since President Ernest Bai Koroma would be leaving for a European Union conference on Ebola in Belgium, Sam-Sumana would be acting as acting president – but with his self-imposed quarantine, he will be carrying out his presidential duties from home.

Sierra Leonean Vice President Sam-Sumana is the highest-ranking African to be in quarantine over fears of potential exposure to Ebola, and according to him, he will be isolating himself for the mandatory 21 days to reduce risks of contaminating others – even though he claimed he showed no symptoms but only wanted to “lead by example.”

“This virus has affected thousands of our people and has nearly brought our country to its knees,” Sam-Sumana said Sunday. “We all have a collective responsibility to break the chains of transmission by isolating the sick and reporting all known contacts, by not touching the dead. We cannot be complacent. We must work together as a nation to end Ebola now.”

President Koroma had just listed restrictions on public movement on Sunday in hopes that Ebola is steadily declining and becoming a thing of the past in the country when VP Sam-Sumana feared exposure and went into quarantine.

His lifting of travel restrictions to boost economic activity is now being criticized by officials as being too early, with some fearing that a resurgence of the disease might have come through maritime travels.

With other 9,600 people dead from Ebola in West Africa and about 23,800 infected with the virus in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone – according to the World Health Organization – Sierra Leone just recorded 18 new cases in the week ending Saturday, shattering hopes that the disease was on the decline.