WHO Declares Liberia Ebola-Free
Liberia is officially free of Ebola, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced. According to WHO, the country has gone 42 days, which is double the maximum incubation period for the disease, without any new cases.
"The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over," WHO's statement read.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told BBC News, "We will celebrate our communities which have taken responsibility and participated in fighting this unknown enemy and finally we've crossed the Rubicon. Liberia indeed is a happy nation."
The last confirmed death was on March 27. The health officials stated that even though there have been no new cases, they would remain vigilant.
"We're proud of what we collectively managed to do but we need to remain vigilant," said Peter Jan Graaff, the U.N. secretary-general's acting special representative and head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). "The virus is not yet out of the region and as long as the virus is in the region we're still all of us potentially at risk."
WHO added that nearby nations, however, are still battling the outbreak. Sierra Leone and Guinea had nine new cases each during the week that ended on May 3.
According to WHO's numbers, there have been more than 4,700 deaths related to Ebola in Liberia. The death toll increases to more than 11,000 in all of West Africa that was affected by the virus.
