COVID-19 pandemic in Liberia

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Liberia in March 2020.[2]

COVID-19 pandemic in Liberia
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationLiberia
First outbreakWuhan, China
Index caseMargibi County
Arrival date16 March 2020
(4 months, 4 weeks and 2 days)
Confirmed cases1,216 (as of 4 August)[1]
Active cases440 (as of 4 August)
Recovered698 (as of 4 August)
Deaths
78 (as of 4 August)
Government website
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Government-Organization/National-Public-Health-Institute-of-Liberia-NPHIL-164280647325112/

Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[3][4]

The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[5][6] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[7][5]

Timeline

March 2020

On 16 March, the first case in Liberia was confirmed, a government official who traveled from Switzerland.[8] President George Weah controversially named the person, and claimed they violated screening protocols at Roberts International Airport (RIA) in Harbel.[9]

The second case was confirmed on 17 March, a close contact of the first case.[10]

Liberia's third case of COVID-19 was confirmed on 20 March. The third person was a returned traveler. Following this third case, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare declared a national health emergency on 22 March.[11][12]

On 24 March, neighboring Ivory Coast announced it closed land borders with Liberia and Guinea in a measure to contain COVID-19.[13]

On 27 March, the U.S. Embassy evacuated some U.S. citizens from Liberia.[14]

At the end of the month all three cases remained active.[15]

April 2020

Liberia reported its first death on 4 April.[16]

On 5 April, the German Embassy together with the European Union organized a charter flight evacuating its citizens.[17]

On 7 April, President George Weah appointed a new National Response Coordinator for the Executive Committee on Coronavirus. The committee will be headed by former mayor of the City of Monrovia, Madam Mary Broh.[18][19] Some experts questioned Broh's ability to effectively coordinate the pandemic response given her inexperience in public health protocols. However, her appointment was noted to have been as a result of recommendations from the United Nations, particularly the World Health Organization.[20][17]

On 8 April, President George Weah declared lock-down measures to take effect on April 10 and last for 3 weeks, including suspension of all non-essential travel and curfews.[21] Schools were closed across the country, and churches, mosques, bars, and beaches in parts of the country.[12] The National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) recorded a record increase in the number of confirmed cases from 14 to 31, an increase of 17 new cases. They also reported 1 more death.

On 21 April, Liberia's legislature wrote a resolution requiring the public to wear masks in public. Enforcement of the law is unclear.[22] As of that date, 29 confirmed cases were healthcare workers (out of 101 total confirmed cases).[23]

During the month there were 138 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 141. There were 45 recoveries and 16 deaths, leaving 80 active cases at the end of the month.[24]

May 2020

There were 147 new cases in May, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 288. Eleven patients died, raising the total death toll to 27. The number of recovered patients rose by 112 to 157, leaving 104 active cases at the end of the month.[25]

June 2020

On 22 June, President George Weah extended the state of emergency by 30 days.[26]

During the month, there were 492 new cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 780. The death toll rose by 9 to 36. By the end of the month 324 patients had recovered, leaving 420 active cases.[27]

Model-based simulations indicate that the confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number R t has been stable above 1.0 since early June.[28]

July 2020

There were 406 new cases in July, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1186. The death toll more than doubled to 75. The number of recovered patients increased by 346 to 670, leaving 441 active cases at the end of the month, an increase by 5% from the previous month.[29]

Response

Liberia was one of the first countries to start screening passengers for COVID-19 at airports.[12]

On 18 March, China donated medical supplies to Liberia.[30]

On 13 April, the International Monetary Fund granted Liberia debt service relief, of an unknown amount.[31]

There has been controversy in the country over whether people with infections should be named. The National Public Health Institute of Liberia's policy was to not release names of people with infections to reduce stigmatization and protect privacy, but other government officials (President George Weah, Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe) have advocated for releasing names for better contact tracing.[32]

See also

References
  1. "Liberia Coronavirus - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  2. "Liberia braces for coronavirus with defunct health system". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  4. Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  5. "Crunching the numbers for coronavirus". Imperial News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  6. "High consequence infectious diseases (HCID); Guidance and information about high consequence infectious diseases and their management in England". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  7. "World Federation Of Societies of Anaesthesiologists – Coronavirus". wfsahq.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  8. "Liberia Records First Case of Coronavirus; Health Authorities Hold Emergency Meeting". FrontPageAfrica. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  9. Liberia's First COVID-19 Case Eclipsed By True Lies By William Q. Harmon And Robin Dopoe, Daily Observer, 17 Mar 2020
  10. AfricaNews (17 March 2020). "Liberia's index case refused COVID-19 quarantine, his worker now infected". Africanews. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  11. Liberia Confirms Third Coronavirus Case, Contacts Tracing Underway By Rodney Sieh, FrontPage Africa, 20 March 2020
  12. "Liberia braces for coronavirus with defunct health system". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  13. "Ivory Coast Closes Borders with Liberia, Guinea Due to the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease". FrontPageAfrica. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  14. "Liberia: U.S. Embassy Evacuates Citizens from Liberia amid Covid-19 Pandemic". FrontPageAfrica. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  15. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 72" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 April 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  16. "National Public Health Institute of Liberia-NPHIL". facebook.com. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  17. "Liberia: COVID-19 Positive Flees into Hiding Due to Fear of Stigmatization". FrontPageAfrica. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  18. "President Weah Appoints Mary Broh to Coordinate Coronavirus Response".
  19. "President Weah Appoints Mary Broh To Coordinate Coronavirus Response". 7 April 2020.
  20. Admin, L. P. R. "Mary Broh , Finda Bundoo appointed to head National Coronavirus Response team | Liberia Public Radio".
  21. "Liberia: President Weah Announces 3 Weeks State of Emergency". 8 April 2020.
  22. "Will You Wear Mask? Liberia's Lawmakers Want Compulsory Wearing of 'Protective Device' In Public". FrontPageAfrica. 19 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  23. "LR Situation Report #36 April 20 2020". 20 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  24. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 102" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 May 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  25. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 133" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 June 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  26. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-06-22/liberia-extends-covid-19-state-of-emergency-as-cases-rise-exponentially
  27. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 163" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 July 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  28. Future scenarios of the healthcare burden of COVID-19 in low- or middle-income countries, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London.
  29. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 194" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 August 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  30. "China Donates PPEs To Help Combat COVID-19 In Liberia". Liberian News Agency. 19 March 2020.
  31. "IMF Executive Board Approves Immediate Debt Relief for 25 Countries". IMF. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  32. "National Public Health Institute of Liberia-NPHIL". facebook.com.
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