Liberia’s armed forces have reportedly been given orders to shoot people trying to illegally cross the border from neighbouring Sierra Leone, which was closed to stem the spread of ebola.
The order came after border officials reported that people have continued to cross the porous border illegally. Liberia closed its borders with Sierra Leone weeks ago in an attempt to contain the ebola outbreak…
Meanwhile, Liberian officials are continuing to search for 17 ebola patients who fled an attack on a quarantine centre in Monrovia, raising fears they could spread the deadly disease.
“We have not yet found them,” Information Minister Lewis Brown said, yesterday, adding that those who looted the place took away mattresses and bedding that were soaked with fluids from the patients.”
On Saturday, youths wielding clubs and knives raided the medical facility set up in a high school in the densely-populated West Point, some shouting “there’s no ebola”, echoing wild rumours that Ebola is a myth – saying the epidemic was made up by the West to oppress Africans.
Authorities are now considering sealing off the area, home to around 75,000 people, although some reports suggest the infected patients may have already fled West Point.
Information Minister Lewis Brown said:
“All those hooligans who looted the centre are now probable carriers of the disease…. They took mattresses and bedding that were soaked with fluids from the patients. To quarantine the area could be one of the solutions. We run the risk of facing a difficult-to-control situation.
“The police had to stand down because they were concerned not to put their men at risk. They got a supply of protective equipment yesterday and my expectation is that they will redeploy today.”
