MOSCOW, December 1 (Sputnik) -The UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) is holding a meeting in Freetown, Sierra Leone on Monday, as its 60-day target for containing the virus remains unmet.
"Monday in #Freetown: @UNBanbury [Anthony Banbury, the head of UNMEER] & @davidnabarro [David Nabarro, Senior UN Coordinator for Ebola Virus Disease] start day meeting [with] national and intl. partners in #EbolaResponse," UNMEER posted on Twitter.
Monday in #Freetown: @UNBanbury & @davidnabarro start day meeting national and intl. partners in #EbolaResponse pic.twitter.com/bcAaowDinf
— UNMEER (@UNMEER) 1 декабря 2014
December 1 marks the end of the 60-day period set by the UNMEER in September to achieve containment targets. According to the United Nations, by this date 70 percent of those infected with the deadly virus were supposed to be receiving treatment and 70 percent of the victims to be safely buried.
Last week, however, Anthony Banbury told Reuters that the goal will not be achieved by the deadline due to the escalating number of virus cases in Sierra Leone.
The current Ebola outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013, spreading later to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. One Ebola infection case has also been registered in Spain, four in the United States and six in Mali. In October, World Health Organization (WHO) declared Nigeria and Senegal Ebola-free.
Among the three countries, 1,284 deaths have been registered in Guinea, 4,181 in Liberia and 1,463 in Sierra Leone.
The number of confirmed, probable and suspected cases has reached 2,123 in Guinea, 7,244 in Liberia and 6,802 in Sierra Leone, pushing the total number to 16,169.
