On a barren hillside outside Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, Alieu Mansaray put on a brave face as strangers in full plastic bodysuits lowered his father’s body into the grave. His 71-year-old father had died of a stroke. Everyone knew that. But in a country where the highly contagious Ebola virus continues to take lives, this is a sacrifice that Sierra Leoneans have come to accept.

In another time, Mansaray explained, the body would have been washed, dressed and perfumed, before being taken to the local mosque for prayers. Then the family would have taken him to a graveyard near their home in the city’s eastern suburbs and laid him to rest in a white cotton shroud.

“It’s really hard. When someone dies you want to bury them in a special way. But this is the law, so we do it,” he said. “I am a patriotic man, and if we want to reach zero new [Ebola] cases it’s important they keep doing this.”

Ebola is at its most virulent in the hours and days after death—a single unsafe burial can infect dozens—making the safe burial policy key to stamping out the stubborn embers of the outbreak. Sierra Leone, where the virus has killed over 3,500 people, is still seeing a handful of new cases each week. The country has seen 16 cases in the last two weeks, including in Freetown, which was thought to have eradicated the disease.

The rules are simple. All bodies—not just those suspected of carrying Ebola—should be buried within 24 hours by a trained Ebola burial team wearing full protective equipment in an authorized burial ground. Rigid safety precautions are outlined for every step of the procedure.