ABERDEEN FREETOWN NOVEMBER 6, 2015 (CISA) – Sierra Leone, worst hit by the Ebola Virus disease in West Africa, is preparing to mark the end of Ebola transmission on November 7 2015, if no new case of the virus is recorded.
On this day if the nation marks 42 days without any new infections, they will have met the criteria set by WHO for declaring the end of Ebola transmission.
According to a WHO the declaration will take place at a formal ceremony at the Bintumani Conference Centre, in Aberdeen, Freetown and will be attended by President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone.
Palo Conteh, head of Sierra Leone’s Ebola response, told a news conference in Freetown on November 4 that there are no plans for an elaborate celebration.
“I feel proud that I was with the support of my staff, able to save the nation from the virus. If I had not tackled Ebola with my team, the nation would have perished,” he told the press. “We have to be vigilant as it is not the end of Ebola but only the end of the current outbreak. We have fought the disease and we have won,” he added.
The jubilation over ending of the outbreak in the country where almost 4,000 deaths were reported, has been carried on with caution, with neighbouring Guinea still battling the virus.
Other key government officials expected at the ceremony are local government and traditional authorities, religious leaders, heads of political parties, members of the international community, healthcare and Ebola response workers and non-governmental organizations, the press and representatives of civil society.
