By Serigne Diaw
CONAKRY
Senegal reopened its airspace and sea borders on Saturday with Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the three countries hardest-hit by the deadly Ebola virus, the Senegalese interior ministry said.
"The decision covers only sea and air borders, not land boundaries," the ministry said in a statement.
According to the statement, administrative authorities, along with defense and security forces, will ensure the strictest application of the decision.
The reopening comes following pressure from the African Union and civil society organizations, who urged Senegal to reopen borders in order to avoid any kind of 'economic paralysis'.
Senegalese President Macky Sall had announced that he will heed the recommendations of the Economic Community of West African States to reopen the border with the Ebola-hit countries.
Senegal shut its borders with Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone on August 21 in hopes of preventing cross-border transmission of the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described Ebola as "one of the most virulent" viruses in the world.
The tropical fever, which first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, can be transmitted to humans from wild animals.
It also reportedly spreads through contact with the body fluids of infected persons or of those who have died of the disease.
A contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure, Ebola has claimed nearly 5,147 lives in West Africa in recent months, according to the latest WHO figures.
Until now, most Ebola deaths have been registered in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
Few have been recorded in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
www.aa.com.tr/en
