Liberia security forces quarantine Monrovia slum in effort to stop Ebola
FoxNews.com
August 20, 2014
MONROVIA, Liberia – Security forces deployed Wednesday to enforce a quarantine around a slum in the Liberian capital, stepping up the government’s fight to stop the spread of Ebola and unnerving residents.
Liberia has the highest death toll of the four West African countries affected by the dreaded disease, and its number of cases is rising the fastest. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ordered the quarantine and imposed a nighttime curfew on Tuesday, saying that authorities have not been able to curtail the spread of Ebola in the face of defiance of their recommendations.
Ebola is spread through contact with bodily fluids, but relatives have been caring for the sick at home in some cases and burial practices that involve touching the body have continued. There is no cure and no licensed treatment for the disease; health workers can only separate the sick from the healthy.
During the raid this weekend in West Point slum, bloody items were stolen and potential Ebola patients fled, raising fears the disease would spread out of control in a densely populated area.
On Wednesday, armed soldiers and riot police began blocking anyone from entering or leaving the neighborhood. A resident saw a coast guard boat patrolling waters around the area.
Mistrust of the government runs high in West Point, and, as frustration with government’s inability to stop the spread of the disease grows, there is potential for unrest.
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