By Lewis S. Teh
The Ministry of Health says there are no Covid-19 cases in treatment units across Liberia except six active cases that are receiving home-based care here.
Liberia’s Minister of Health Doctor Wilhelmina Jallah disclosed that two of those cases in home-based care are in Montserrado County, while four are in Maryland County, southeast of the country which means they are okay and not in critical condition.
She told a press briefing at the Ministry of Information in Monrovia that total deaths since the third wave of the pandemic in Liberia registered 287, while 5,518 persons recovered from a total of 5,811 confirmed cases.
Liberia experienced its worst period of the pandemic in May and early July 2021, with the emergence of the infectious Delta variant.
The country recorded 63 deaths during this period, and the number of cases increased by 3,254. A staggering 219 of those cases were recorded on July 3 alone, the highest daily surge of the virus since the index case in March 2020.
With these, the country was subdued by fear, especially with reports that health facilities, mainly the John F. Kennedy memorial hospital which is the nation’s top referral hospital were overwhelmed with patients in the face of an acute shortage of logistics and accommodation.
The situation was worsened further when the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranked Liberia at Level 4, warning U.S. citizens from traveling to Liberia in late July.
Minister Jallah, in a gratified mood, lauded healthcare workers across the country, especially those at Covid-19 treatment units, for their sacrifices that are now yielding tangible results.
She credited Liberians for the tremendous progress, saying “We are grateful to Liberians for positively responding to the health guidelines. This has helped to bring cases down. We pray that we all continue to abide by those regulations.”
As a result of progress made so far, the government has relaxed some of the rigid regulations. The Ministry of Health in a release last week amended its Covid-19 regulations.
The new regulations, amongst other things, extended the 9 pm restriction of recreation centers to 11 pm.
“Night clubs, bars, beaches, cinemas, video clubs, entertainment centers, including hotels, restaurants, and guest houses shall close by 11 pm. Hotel and guest house guests can access room service at the same time,” she said.
The statement, however, mandates everyone to wear facemasks at all times in public and ensure physical distancing of a minimum of three feet from each other in public. It also emphasizes frequent washing of hands or using hands sanitizer.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jallah has called on citizens to be vaccinated to meet up with the World Health Organization’s global vaccination target of 40 percent by December 31, 2021. The ministry also warned that government will have no alternative but to impose another regulation that would mandate people who have not taken any of the COVID vaccines to get vaccinated.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/covid-19-prevention-community-engagement-launched-in-montserrado-bomi-and-margibi/ Editing by Jonathan Browne
