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COVID-19 attacks 13 counties

Health Minister revealed

The Minister of Health and head of the government’s Incident Management System Dr. Wilehmina Jallah, has revealed that 13 of the 15 counties of Liberia are battling the third wave of the deadly COVID-19 attack.

Addressing the regular press briefing at the Ministry of Information Thursday, July 1, 2021, she said from the inception of the third wave of the virus in March, Montserrado county, now considered the high zone, was among few counties that were in response, but as of June 30th the number has increased to 13 with the exception of River Gee and Grand Kru counties.

“The number of counties that are now in respond clearly indicates that we should continue our mask-wearing, social distancing and follow all of the health protocols, and abide by the measures that were provided by the government; with this, we can defeat this virus”, the Minister said.

Doctor Jallah emphasizes that the entire COVID-19 fight rests in the hands of every citizen, noting that no one should wait on the government.

However, critics say the government should do more and take leadership by improving scrutiny at the Roberts International Airport, particularly on travelers entering the country.

Citizens also criticize President George Weah for traveling out of the country amid the current peak of the virus. Many think he should stay home and give hope to the population. 

But the Minister of Health warns that if Liberians take the fight for granted, the entire country would lose the battle.

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She says there is no immediate plan to shut down the country, explaining “We can’t at this time close down markets; our people need to eat, and we don’t want citizens to die from starvation, but what we can do is to appeal to your conscience to abide by every measure.”

She puts total confirmed cases in the country as of June 30th   to 4,251 with 40 percent occurring in the same month and 1,619 active cases across Liberia.

She says of the figure above, 2,346 recoveries were recorded in the same period, adding that due to the seriousness of the Delta variant that is making more people get sick, the recovery period takes a longer time.

At the same time, Dr. Jallah reveals that from June 1st to the 30th Liberia recorded a total of 55 deaths, noting that this is something that should scare people.

 “I’m terribly hurt that we had to lose a huge number of our citizens to COVID-19”, she laments and explains that total deaths from the third wave are 141 with 1,715 contacts being followed in Montserrado county, described as the epic center.

“There are more people here in Montserrado county that are affected, and it will take lots of teamwork, commitment to getting rid of the virus within this epic center.”

The Minister adds that about 103 persons are in treatment facilities, 57 of them at Star Base with 47 placed on oxygen.

Liberia received its first consignment of 96,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines brought in the country in early April. A total of 84,808 persons have taken the first dose, while 5,463 persons received the second dose.

Dr. Jallah appeals to citizens especially, those waiting to take their second dose of the vaccine to be patient, saying, “Don’t panic, we are doing everything possible for you to have your second dose of the vaccine.”https://thenewdawnliberia.com/liberias-covid-19-deaths-hit-110/ By Lewis S. Teh, Editing by Jonathan Browne

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NewDawn

The New Dawn is Liberia’s Truly Independent Newspaper Published by Searchlight Communications Inc. Established on November 16, 2009, with its first hard copy publication on January 22, 2010. The office is located on UN Drive in Monrovia Liberia. The New Dawn is bilingual (both English & French).
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