WHO certifies Liberia free of deadly virus

dimeji akinloye

May 9, 2015 2:48 PM

Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said the country will celebrate the communities which took responsibility and participated in fighting the virus.

After thousands have died, Ebola is finally over in Liberia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Liberia Ebola-free after no new cases were recorded in 42 days.

In a statement on Saturday, may 9, WHO said “the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over."

Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told the BBC, "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."

As the country celebrate the end of sorrowful episodes, WHO has warned against complacency, saying that there is a high risk that infected people cross into Liberia – given the region’s exceptionally porous borders.

The last confirmed death from Ebola in Liberia was on March 27.

The current outbreak is the deadliest in history. It initially centred on Guinea's remote south-eastern region of Nzerekore in early 2014, and later spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing hundreds of thousands in the region.

dimeji akinloye