RESIDENTS of a large Liberian slum have expressed relief after the government lifted a 10-day Ebola quarantine.
“WE were in a virtual hell” during the lockdown, said Tom Nyennoh, 47, a resident of the West Point township in central Monrovia.
An announcement by state radio on Friday night that the quarantine was lifted was celebrated by hundreds of residents on the streets of the township, which is home to an estimated 75,000 people. West Point was sealed off on August 20 by armed security guards and police officers, leaving many of its residents without access to food or safe water. The measure sparked clashes between residents and security forces, in which a 15-year-old boy was killed. Thomas Weah, a 45-year-old vendor, said the quarantine had only “brought additional hardship to an already overstretched populace”. Tamba Joseph, 56, said those with the means could simply pay to leave.