MOSCOW, October 23 (RIA Novosti) - The government of Guinea has started paying compensation to the families of healthcare workers who have died of Ebola, the head of the country's Ebola mission said Thursday.
"Eight families have already been paid the $10,000 lump sum," Dr. Saccoba Keita told the BBC.
Keita added that the families of 42 victims of the virus, "including doctors, nurses, drivers and porters," have been approved to receive the financial aid.
The current Ebola epidemic started in southern Guinea in February and later spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal, with several Ebola cases having been reported outside of West Africa. Senegal and Nigeria have already been declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). Guinea, as well as Liberia and Sierra Leone, remains in the top-3 of the countries, worst hit by the virus.
Latest figures by the WHO, released on October 22, show that the current outbreak of Ebola has claimed 4,877 lives, with a number of confirmed, probable and suspected Ebola infection cases surpassing 9,900.
