Liberia Declared Ebola-Free

Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

The World Health Organization has declared Liberia to finally be free of Ebola.

The death toll from the virus was listed as 4,700 by WHO officials.

“The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over,” WHO representative Dr. Alex Gasasira said at a press conference in the capital city of Monrovia on Saturday, reading his group’s statement.

The announcement comes 42 days after the last reported case of the virus.  The standard for declaring a nation free of a virus is twice the cycle of infection which is 21 days for Ebola.

“Interruption of transmission is a monumental achievement for a country that reported the highest number of deaths in the largest, longest, and most complex outbreak since Ebola first emerged in 1976,” WHO said in the statement.

The peak of the virus was August and September 2014 where 300 to 400 cases were being confirmed each week.

“During those 2 months, the capital city Monrovia was the setting for some of the most tragic scenes from West Africa’s outbreak: gates locked at overflowing treatment centers, patients dying on the hospital grounds, and bodies that were sometimes not collected for days,” WHO said. “Flights were cancelled. Fuel and food ran low. Schools, businesses, borders, markets, and most health facilities were closed. Fear and uncertainty about the future, for families, communities, and the country and its economy, dominated the national mood.”

Officials with the WHO have previously admitted the death toll could be much higher than the official toll because of families that would bury their dead and not report relatives who succumbed to the virus.

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