Guinea declared free of Ebola virus

People in the Guinea capital, Conakry, greeted the declaration by authorities and the World Health Organization with mixed emotions given the deaths and the damage the virus did to the economy and the country’s health and education sectors.

The U.N. organization is holding a ceremony Tuesday to mark the step forward in the West African country where the worst Ebola outbreak in history started in December 2013.

Liberia is now the only country still awaiting a countdown for the end of the epidemic.

There were more than 3,800 Ebola cases in Guinea out of the more than 28,600 cases during the epidemic.

A country is considered free of human-to-human transmission once two 21-day incubation periods have passed since the last known case tested negative for a second time.

“WHO commends the Government of Guinea and its people on the significant achievement of ending its Ebola outbreak”.

According to the United Nations, more than 6,000 Guinean children have lost one or both parents to Ebola.

Sierra Leone officially ended its epidemic in November.

Strong recent growth has been curtailed in Guinea and while Liberia has resumed growth, Sierra Leone is facing a severe recession, according to the World Bank, which has mobilised US$1.62 billion for Ebola response and recovery efforts. President Alpha Conde has doubled the health budget since winning re-election in November.

“The time-limited persistence of virus in survivors which may give rise to new Ebola flares in 2016 makes it imperative that partners continue to support these countries”.