MONROVIA
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has declared a 90-day state of emergency throughout the country over the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
"The country is going through serious crisis [as] the Ebola virus continues to kill our people," Sirleaf said in an address to the nation.
She declared a three-month state of emergency citing article 86 of the Liberian constitution which allows the president, in consultation with the speakers of the two houses of parliament, to declare a state of emergency.
The article gives the president the right to "suspend or affect certain rights, freedoms and guarantees contained in this Constitution."
In her address to the nation, President Sirleaf said the Ebola outbreak has seriously affected all aspect of life in the country as normal activities have almost come to a standstill.
"The government is trying to improve the situation in the country, and therefore, certain rights are going to be suspended as we go through these periods of emergency" she added.
To date, over 150 people in Liberia have died of the Ebola, a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure, with several suspected cases being reported on a daily basis.
The tropical fever, which first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, can be transmitted to humans from wild animals and also spreads through contact with the body fluids of an infected person or someone who has died of the disease.
In late July President Sirleaf ordered the immediate closure of all schools throughout the country among other measures to contain the Ebola outbreak.
She also ordered that all non-essential staff of government ministries and agencies be placed on a 30-day compulsory leave.
The Liberian leader called for the closure of all markets around the border with Sierra Leon and Guineas until further notice.
www.aa.com.tr/en
