Please keep Liberia in your prayers as the Ebola cases are increasing in Liberia every day. As of this writing there have been 1,779 reported cases. The virus has affected the normal way of life for Liberians. Due to the outbreak of the virus, normal activities like shaking hands and hugging relatives has ceased due to concern of contracting the disease. Many Liberians have isolated themselves from sick friends and relatives and some have resorted to reporting infected friends and relatives to the authorities. The fear of this outbreak has prevented people with other life threatening conditions to prolong medical treatment and doctor visits out of fear of visiting the hospital. In some cases this has resulted in death due to untreated conditions unrelated to the Ebola virus. There have been cases where some health workers run from patients because they are afraid of contracting the Ebola virus, and this same fear has kept Liberians from honoring the dead with a proper burial and funeral service.
As a preventative measure it is now mandatory to wash your hands everywhere you go, be it to the store or to your neighbor’s house. While this is a positive thing and certainly will help in preventing some spread of the virus, it’s a hardship for most people as the extra expenditures required to purchase chlorine and other detergents is not something that is affordable for most in Liberia.
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has declared a country wide state of emergency and the Liberian Government has now announced the shutdown of schools and other public places in order to prevent further spread of the virus, but this preventative measure along with others came only after the virus spread out of control.
Please keep Liberia in your prayers and pray for the protection of the families in our community.