NewsTracker Answers for week of Dec. 15, 2014

Q: Sierra Leone has banned public celebrations over Christmas and the New Year, because of the Ebola crisis. Where is the small West African nation of Sierra Leone?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Christmas is widely celebrated in Sierra Leone. What is the largest religion in the country?

A. Christian

B. Muslim

C. Indigenous beliefs

B. About 60 percent of the people in Sierra Leone are Muslim, and 30 percent follow indigenous beliefs. While only 10 percent are Christian, Christmas is a popular holiday in the country.

Q: Sierra Leone now has the highest number of Ebola cases in West Africa, surpassing its southeastern neighbor . . .

A. Liberia

B. Guinea

C. Nigeria

D. Mali

A. With more than 8,000 Ebola cases, Sierra Leone overtook Liberia as the country with the most cases earlier in December, according to the World Health Organization. Sierra Leone is bordered by Guinea to the north and northeast, Liberia to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest.

Q: People hit by this Ebola epidemic are among the poorest in the world. All these nations rank in the bottom 20 for income per person. Which is the poorest?

A. Sierra Leone

B. Mali

C. Liberia

D. Guinea

C. Per person, Liberians average $700 income a year or half as much as the $,1,400 average in Sierra Leone. While Sierra Leone now has more reported Ebola cases, Liberia has reported the most deaths, 3,222. Mali has reported only six deaths.

Q: Sierra Leone has deployed troops to keep people indoors during the festive season and limit the spread of Ebola. Soldiers also will patrol the streets of the capital . . .

A. Abuja

B. Monrovia

C. Conakry

D. Freetown

A. With an estimated population of 1.2 million, Freetown is also the largest city in Sierra Leone, Freetown was first settled in 1787 by 400 former British slaves. They were later joined by slaves who had been freed after fighting for the British in the American Revolution.