State of Emergency declared
Updated 07 Aug 2014 @ 09:25
Liberia’s President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has declared a state of emergency as the country grapples with an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
The outbreak has also hit Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, killing more than 930 people.
World Health Organization (WHO) experts are currently meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss a response to the outbreak.
The two-day meeting will decide whether to declare a global health emergency.
Yesterday, WHO said 932 patients had died of the disease in West Africa so far, with most of the latest fatalities reported in Liberia, where at least 282 have died of the virus.
Liberia's state of emergency will be in place for 90 days.
Nigeria's Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, has also described the outbreak as a national emergency, adding that people worldwide are at risk because of air travel.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian authorities said that a Saudi man who was treated for Ebola-like symptoms after visiting Sierra Leone has died at a hospital in Jeddah. If confirmed, it would be the first Ebola-related death outside Africa.
The outbreak has also hit Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, killing more than 930 people.
World Health Organization (WHO) experts are currently meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss a response to the outbreak.
The two-day meeting will decide whether to declare a global health emergency.
Yesterday, WHO said 932 patients had died of the disease in West Africa so far, with most of the latest fatalities reported in Liberia, where at least 282 have died of the virus.
Liberia's state of emergency will be in place for 90 days.
Nigeria's Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, has also described the outbreak as a national emergency, adding that people worldwide are at risk because of air travel.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian authorities said that a Saudi man who was treated for Ebola-like symptoms after visiting Sierra Leone has died at a hospital in Jeddah. If confirmed, it would be the first Ebola-related death outside Africa.
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