The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Liberia free of the Ebola virus, as the country has had no new cases in 42 days. Last September, Liberia was seeing 400 cases a week, with hospitals full and bodies lying in the streets. A public health campaign was launched to stem the epidemic, and the last confirmed death was on 27 March. The Ebola outbreak has claimed over 11,000 lives in the region, and remains active in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
But new cases have been falling and the UN's Ebola envoy, David Nabarro, called progress against the disease in West Africa "extraordinary".
He warned however that it would take time to eliminate the outbreak completely.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf expects her counterparts in Guinea and Sierra Leone to call to congratulate her on her victory over a disease that swept through the region, killing over 4,000 people in her war-recovering country alone. Officials say it was collective effort and resilience that eventually
conquered Ebola. Ms Sirleaf is celebrating. She is due to take a bus tour around the capital thanking healthcare workers and community people in a victory parade.
She also indicated how traumatised she and the nation remain. "Even today if you hear an ambulance siren you shake a little bit," she said.
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