Ebola: Liberia to See Thousands of New Cases in Coming Weeks – WHO

Monrovia (Reuters/NAN) – The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday night in Monrovia predicted that Liberia would see thousands

of new cases of Ebola virus in coming weeks as the virus was spreading exponentially.

It said it would take more than nine months to contain and there was possibility of the virus infecting more than 20,000 people before the time.

It said in Liberia the disease has already killed 1,089 people.

“Transmission of the Ebola virus in Liberia is already intense and the number of new cases is increasing exponentially,” it said.

“The number of new cases is moving far faster than the capacity to manage them in Ebola-specific treatment centres,” it added.

WHO said as soon as a new Ebola treatment centre was opened, it immediately overflows with patients.

“In Monrovia, taxis filled with entire families, of whom some members are thought to be infected with the Ebola virus, crisscross the city, searching for a treatment bed,” it said.

It said the WHO investigative team estimated that 1,000 beds are urgently needed for Ebola patients, as motorbike-taxis and regular taxis have become “a hot source” of Ebola transmission.

Liberia’s government announced that it was extending a nationwide night time curfew imposed last month to curb the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile, Sierra Leone has ordered a four-day countrywide “lockdown” starting Sept. 18, as part of tougher efforts to halt the spread of Ebola.