Liberia is free from Ebola. That’s the message from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She and others visited an Ebola Treatment Unit in Monrovia Saturday where the grounds were eerily empty.
The country’s deputy health minister Tolbert Nyswah says while Liberia has not had any cases recently, there’s still need for caution.
“Today Liberia, it has been confirmed that Liberia is Ebola-free after going 42 days, and so it is worth celebrating but with cautions that our neighbors are still reporting confirmed cases, and therefore we should be vigilant here on our side of the borders.”
The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak killed just over 11,000 people in West Africa, including more than 4,700 in Liberia.
The United Nations Ebola crisis manager for Liberia, Dr. Peter Graaff, praises the country for its response.
“In Liberia the communities were actually at the center of the success we’ve had so far. It was the communities that self-organized, it was the communities that understood what this disease was all about. They did not wait for the government, they did not wait for the international community.”
As many now celebrate an Ebola-free Liberia and pray for continued success, health organizations are urging vigilance to prevent the deadly epidemic from returning.
Ventuno