Freetown, 5 Nov - (ANA) - A British-run facility to treat people with Ebola is opening in Sierra Leone. The 92-bed site in Kerry Town will be run jointly by the Department for International Development (DfID) and charity Save the Children. The centre is the first of six which are being constructed by the British government as part of the effort to stop the spread of the disease. Save the Children chief executive Justin Forsyth said there was a "race against time" to stop that happening. The facility at Kerry Town south of the capital Freetown includes a new blood testing laboratory. Six hundred more beds are planned at UK centres around the country in the coming months. The centre also provides dedicated beds for infected healthcare workers and separate sites for confirmed and suspected cases. Mr Forsyth said: "The Ebola crisis that's affecting Sierra Leone, but also Liberia and Guinea, is so enormous. "We're in a race against time to make sure we can prevent it spreading but also to treat people who have got Ebola and to build on for the future. "But we've never done something like this treatment centre. It's enormous for us and it was a risky decision, but it's something I feel very proud about." The head of the DfID-led UK Ebola Taskforce, Donal Brown, predicted that the new centres "will have a huge impact". He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the facilities were part of a wider strategy that includes community care centres and improved burial practices. "We are making progress," he said, pointing out that that four weeks ago "very few" bodies were being picked up for burial but now 100% of bodies reported were being buried within 24 hours. (ANA)

FA/ANA/5 November 2014--------