Liberian official: country is at war with Ebola

Health workers in protective gear leave after carrying the body of a woman that they suspect died from the Ebola virus, in an area known as Clara Town in Monrovia, Liberia, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. A surge in Ebola infections in Liberia is driving a spiraling outbreak in West Africa that is increasingly putting health workers at risk as they struggle to treat an overwhelming number of patients. A higher proportion of health workers has been infected in this outbreak than in any previous one. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh) Health workers in protective gear leave after carrying the body of a woman that they suspect died from the Ebola virus, in an area known as Clara Town in Monrovia, Liberia, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. A surge in Ebola infections in Liberia is driving a spiraling outbreak in West Africa that is increasingly putting health workers at risk as they struggle to treat an overwhelming number of patients. A higher proportion of health workers has been infected in this outbreak than in any previous one. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)

By Associated Press September 11, 2014 1 min read

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) – Liberian officials are saying their country is at war with Ebola, and so many people are infected that the capital alone will need at least 1,000 beds in isolation units.

That squares with a World Health Organization estimate from earlier this week. The agency says the county where Monrovia is located has only 240 beds, with 260 more on the way – only half of what’s needed.

Finance Minister Amara Konneh told a news conference Thursday the country is at “war with an enemy we don’t see.” Another official said Monrovia needs hundreds of more beds.

Liberia has been hardest hit by the disease, which has also touched Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. More than 2,200 deaths have been attributed to Ebola in the world’s largest outbreak.