Controlled panic reigns in Liberia as Ebola cases exceed 8,000 in West Africa
MONROVIA, Liberia, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- A wave of controlled panic is reigning in Liberia, as the World Health Organization has recently reported 8,399 Ebola cases, mostly in West Africa, and 4,033 deaths.In the capital of Monrovia, no one shakes hands, while an elbow bump is used sparingly for greetings, with most people preferring not to make any contact at all.Most radio stations play popular songs about Ebola, and locals talk about Ebola in many of their conversations.Despite some reports to the contrary, the infection shows no signs of abating, with small groups of people still gathering at the entrance to Ebola clinics.Many locals do not believe the outbreak is under control, and have expressed concerns over the poor access to care for Ebola victims.Local people also treat every dead body with suspicion now.A crowd gathered in central Monrovia as an alleged thief jumped into the river in the city and died. Bystanders said he was not a suspected Ebola case, but many people were unwilling to take the risk of pulling out the body. As a result, Liberian Red Cross' Ebola burial team members arrived wearing hazmat suits to collect the body.Cellcom Liberia, one of the country's largest cell phone providers, has a worker checking temperatures before shoppers are allowed to enter its parking lot. The worker writes down the temperatures on a name tag, which is checked by security guards after the shoppers enter the parking lot and also checked at the door to the store as they line up to enter it.Many restaurants, hotels, banks and stores have hand washing stations installed, and require people to wash their hands before entering. But some businesses fall short of their goals, as many of the buckets contain water with no soap available, or chlorine mixed into the water.
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