West African leaders of Liberia and Sierra Leone are canceling their scheduled trips to Washington next week for the US - Africa Summit and have decided, instead, to convene in Guinea to talk with representatives from the World Health Organization about taking the attempts to control the Ebola outbreak to all new levels. Leaders of the countries in question have agreed to impose new and stricter rules across the infected sector, as well as launching a $100 million management plan that will be directed towards medical rehabilitation management in the Ebola-hit regions.
Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia are still struggling to contain the Ebola virus epidemic that has already infected over 1000 people in major cities across the region. The alarming spread of the virus has sparked major concern over the possibility of the outbreak making its way to neighboring countries. In light of the current situation, Sierra Leone President, Earnest Bai Koroma, has already put the country under a state of public emergency in an attempt to deal with, what he refers to as "an extraordinary challenge to the nation."
The canceled overseas trips are also a part of the new set of measures being implemented by the West African leaders and attempt to bring the epidemic under control. Other steps in the response plan include quarantining the areas that have confirmed Ebola cases. Schools, business establishments, and other non-essential government facilities are also being shut down across the crisis zones to prevent disease transmission. For similar reasons, some international organizations that have initially come to the aid of the affected provinces are now being pulled out of the country. Enhanced screening in airports and other border points across the globe is also being encouraged to manage the threat, while some countries have already warned their citizens against traveling to the affected places in order to stop the virus from spreading.
Since the beginning of the year, the new strain of Ebola virus has infected a great number of people across West Africa, with a 55% death rate recorded from among the infected making this the worst outbreak ever of this type of virus.