Liberia running low on body bags for Ebola victims
Liberia has declared a shortage of body bags, which are crucial to preventing the spread of the deadly virus. There are only 4,900 body bags nationwide in the country most affected by the outbreak.
FIGHTING EBOLA A six-month forecast of items Liberia predicts it will need to help fight Ebola.
Boxes of gloves
Available: 18,000
Needed: 2.4 million
Hooded overalls
Available: 165,000
Needed: 1.2 million
Face masks
Available: 309,000
Needed: 1.7 million
Goggles
Available: 57,000
Needed: 567,000
Rubber boots
Available: 2,200
Needed: 176,000
Mattresses
Available: 2,000
Needed: 5,000
Hand sprayers
Available: 420
Needed: 210,000
Since the outbreak started in March, about 9,000 Ebola cases and 4,493 deaths have been reported, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization. More than half of the deaths have been in Liberia.
And the numbers are expected to skyrocket.
There could be up to 10,000 new Ebola cases per week in the three hardest-hit nations by the end of the year, the World Health Organization said.
Liberia has some supplies arriving in the next week, but it says they are still insufficient. Items scheduled to arrive don’t include body bags.
Credit: CNN
