Sierra Leone said Friday it was banning any public Christmas celebrations as the spiralling caseload of Ebola infections continues to spread alarm, The Daily Mail reported.

Soldiers are to be deployed throughout the festive period to force people venturing onto the streets back indoors, the government's Ebola response unit said.

Under current emergency regulations, bars and nightspots have already been shut down and public gatherings outlawed but there is no general ban on going outdoors or working.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that 18,188 cases of the deadly virus had been reported across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, resulting in 6,583 deaths.