Life goes on after Ebola’s worst ravages

MONROVIA: Robert Kollie and his fiancée postponed their October wedding as Ebola ravaged Liberia’s capital.

The government had warned people to avoid large gatherings. Weddings are full of kissing and hugging, and just one unknowingly sick person could infect dozens.

A month later, even as Ebola continues to ravage parts of west Africa, the situation has improved in Monrovia and a scenic park in the eastern suburbs is once again busy at weekends, with photographers shooting bridal parties. The Kollies were among them.

“When Ebola was spreading and at the same time my wedding was being prepared, I asked myself, ‘What will I tell God if I die in this crisis and don’t get married?’” said Yongor Kollie, 31, flanked by her bridesmaids. “And so today I am a happy woman.” Happy, but still cautious. “Even before coming here, we had to wash our hands,” said the groom, 33, referring to the buckets of water and bleach that Liberians have accepted as a part of daily life.

Liberia has been the hardest hit of the west African countries battling Ebola outbreaks, with more than 2 800 people killed this year.

But the number of new cases has dropped precipitously in Monrovia after months of public awareness campaigns emphasising the need to isolate the sick and get tested as soon as symptoms emerge.

Other hot spots are popping up outside Monrovia, as well as in neighbouring countries. Sierra Leone is hard hit.

Cases continue to emerge in Guinea.

A Sierra Leonean doctor died of Ebola yesterday, a medical source said, bringing to seven the number of doctors who had been killed by the virus. – Reuters-Sapa-AP