Liberia reopens slum barricaded to fight Ebola

A woman, center, reacts as she and others celebrate on the streets outside of West Point, that have been closed in by Liberian security forces to stop all movement the past week in a attempt to control the Ebola outbreak in Monrovia, Liberia, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. Liberia says it will open up a slum in its capital where thousands of people were barricaded to contain the spread of Ebola. Information Minister Lewis Brown says lifting the quarantine Saturday morning will not mean there is no Ebola in the West Point Slum. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh) A woman, center, reacts as she and others celebrate on the streets outside of West Point, that have been closed in by Liberian security forces to stop all movement the past week in a attempt to control the Ebola outbreak in Monrovia, Liberia, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. Liberia says it will open up a slum in its capital where thousands of people were barricaded to contain the spread of Ebola. Information Minister Lewis Brown says lifting the quarantine Saturday morning will not mean there is no Ebola in the West Point Slum. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

By Associated Press August 30, 2014 2 min read

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) – Crowds celebrated in the streets of Liberia’s capital on Saturday after authorities reopened a slum where tens of thousands of people had been barricaded for more than a week to contain the country’s Ebola outbreak.

The blockade of the West Point neighborhood had sparked unrest as residents feared running out of food and safe water on the peninsula.

Lifting the quarantine Saturday morning doesn’t mean there is no Ebola in the West Point slum, said Information Minister Lewis Brown. Authorities, though, are more confident now that they can work with residents to screen for the sick, he said.

“They’re comfortable with the way the leadership and the community is working with the health team to make sure that the community remains safe,” he said.

Liberia has been the hardest hit of the five countries with Ebola cases in West Africa, reporting at least 694 deaths among 1,378 cases. More than 3,000 cases have been reported across Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, and on Friday Senegal announced its first case.