The Slatest

Liberia Down to Zero Active Ebola Cases

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Larry Downing/Reuters

With the release of a 58-year-old teacher named Beatrice Yardolo from a treatment center, Liberia now has no known cases of Ebola, the Associated Press reports. If no further cases are reported in the next 42 days, the country will be declared “Ebola-free” per World Health Organization guidelines; unfortunately, neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone are still suffering from heavy infection rates.

The WHO on Wednesday reported 132 new Ebola cases last week, an increase from the 99 cases reported the previous week. The agency said the spread of Ebola remains “widespread” in Sierra Leone and noted that cases have jumped both there and in Guinea.

Nine new cases were reported in a 24-hour period, according to an update from the Sierra Leone government on Tuesday.

More than 9,000 people have died thus far during the West African disease outbreak, including more than 4,000 in Liberia.