Increase Hospital Beds for Ebola Patients, WHO Tells Liberia

The World Health Organization has asked the Ebola treatment centers in Monrovia and nearby areas to increase their capacity to 1000 beds.

Many Ebola treatment clinics in Monrovia have limited number of beds.  Due to this, the clinics turn away some patients.

The clinics are able to take new patients only when beds become free, WHO said, reports Voice of America.

The case of Jerry Dope is an example of how desperate the situation is in Monrovia. Dope said that he drove for a long time to consult a doctor for his nephew who was ill. After visiting three care centers, he reached the ELWA-3 clinic.

"I brought my nephew. He has been sick. His skin is hot with fever. We brought him here this morning, but we are told there is no space in there, so we are confused," said Dope. "We don't know where to go. We don't know where to head right now," he said, reports the Voice of America.

The ELWA-3 clinic, run by Doctors Without Borders, is the largest Ebola treatment centre in Monrovia.

The clinic is trying to increase the number of beds from 120 to 400. The organization is also working ceaselessly to open a new government operated treatment unit with 100 beds later this week in Monrovia.

However, WHO said that at least 1000 beds are required to meet the need of the hour. It also called for giving training to hundreds of health workers so as to put them in the new treatment units.

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasaveric said, "All these [sick] people who are outside may potentially infect other people, so this is why we are saying it is really urgent to step up the response," reports the Voice of America.

According to the statistics published by WHO on Tuesday, more than 500 new cases were recorded in a week. A large number of health workers too have been affected by the disease in Liberia. Eighty workers have died and 160 were ill with the infection, according to Karin Landgren, the U.N. envoy to Liberia, reports the Associated Press.