MONROVIA, Montserrado – Liberia’s hope of being declared Ebola-free was dashed on March 20 when a female tested positive for the virus.

The country had gone 29 days without any new cases of the virus and was only left with fifteen more days to be declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization.

The Deputy Head of the Incident Management Team, Dr. Francis Kateh said on Monday that the newest Ebola patient is a 44-year-old woman, a petty trader and resident of the Caldwell Township, outside Monrovia.

He said that after the results, the woman was transferred for immediate treatment at one of the best treatment units in the country. He emphasized “she is also receiving the best of care, and her condition remains stable.”

Kateh said the Incident Management Team has gathered that the woman has never traveled out of Liberia; she has never come in contact with any Ebola positive person and did not participate in any secret burials.

However, Kateh said that the woman was involved in sexual contact with a male Ebola survivor, her fiancee, who was discharged from the Ebola Treatment Unit.

Kateh said an investigation is underway to find out if it is possible that the casino online patient got Ebola by sexual transmission.

Doctors have recommended that male Ebola survivors should not have sexual intercourse for the period of 3 months or 90 days because the virus tends to remain in the semen.

Kateh said the public has no cause to panic because the government is working to prevent this Ebola crisis from turning into a complete nightmare.

He added that the government has control of the situation and “they are doing all to make sure the woman survives to tell her story.”

With the new case, Liberian will now start counting from zero after the patient is treated and discharged from the ETU considering no other case is reported.

Featured image courtesy of  Stephen Kollie