WHO Declares Liberia Free of Active Ebola Virus Transmission

By Reuters 9 Jun, 2016 10:30 EDT

Zika — Health workers wearing protective clothing prepare to carry an abandoned dead body presenting with Ebola symptoms at Duwala market in Monrovia August 17, 2014. To try to control the Ebola epidemic spreading through West Africa, Liberia has quarantined remote villages at the epicentre of the virus, evoking the "plague villages" of medieval Europe that were shut off from the outside world. REUTERS/2Tango

Liberia has reached the end of active Ebola virus transmission, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday, the fourth such declaration from one of the west African countries at the epicenter of the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

The declaration means it has been 42 days since the last confirmed patient tested negative for a second time for the disease.

Liberia first declared itself free of the virus in May 2015 but Ebola flared up again three times, most recently when a woman contracted it after traveling to neighboring Guinea and infecting her two children, the WHO said.

The WHO declared Sierra Leone free of the deadly haemorrhagic fever on March 17 and Guinea on June 1.

Tolbert Nyenswah, head of Liberia's Ebola response team, told Reuters the country had strengthened its surveillance and response capacity and its laboratory system since the start of the outbreak.

"We've proven we can contain the outbreak, we can intervene very swiftly," said Nyenswah.

Liberia, like Guinea before it, will now need to undergo an additional 90 days of heightened surveillance as the disease can live on in survivors' bodily fluids for months.

WHO data show West Africa's Ebola epidemic killed more than 11,300 people and infected some 28,600 as it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia from 2013 in the world's worst outbreak of the disease.

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

In order an effort to promote traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, in collaboration with Macao YMCA, Guangzhou Suigang'ao Teenagers Institute, and the Teacher Chang Foundation of Taiwan, has conducted a survey on teens measuring their cultural awareness. They found that Hong Kong youths generally identify with and support the values of traditional Chinese culture.
Global Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, ‘trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time’.
Yesterday, October 31, was Reformation Day, and Lutherans around the world held various events in commemoration. In Singapore, the Lutheran Church advocated for Christian communion, while the German Lutheran Church encouraged believers to face the challenge of “trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time.”
Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues
American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.
2.1M Korean Christians estimated at joint worship service to affirm family, oppose gay marriage, pray for nation
In the afternoon of Reformation Sunday, Oct. 27, some 2.1 million Christians gathered for a joint worship service from 2pm to 5pm in Seoul, Korea to “unite for repentance, revival, and restoration of holiness in our society.” According to organizers, an estimated 1.1 million joined onsite despite the bad weather with another 1 million joining online. The unprecedented joint worship service brought together Korean churches across denominations as they affirmed traditional marriage and family and
Willow Creek Community Church invites believers to write prayer cards for the next president
This past Sunday, Willow Creek Community Church based in Illinois invited believers to “pray for the next president” during the service. The church not only expressed its concern for the upcoming election but also emphasized the role believers should play in the process and the importance of offering prayers for the nation's leaders.

WHO Declares Liberia Free of Active Ebola Virus Transmission

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.

Survey: Hong Kong teens generally identify with traditional Chinese cultural values

Global Lutherans celebrate Reformation Day, ‘trusting in the power of grace in a merciless time’.

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues

2.1M Korean Christians estimated at joint worship service to affirm family, oppose gay marriage, pray for nation

Many American churchgoers expect their pastors’ sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues
American churchgoers are looking for more than biblical explanation from their pastor each week. Many expect the sermons to help them understand and address modern cultural issues.