Guinea begins countdown to being Ebola-free

Guinea has started a 42-day countdown towards being declared officially Ebola-free.

Fode Sylla Tass, a spokesman for Guinea Fighting Against Ebola Coordination, said on Wednesday that ‘Yes to no epidemic disease,’ was the new slogan chosen by Guinea’s health authorities.

The new campaign was in response to the country beginning its countdown on Monday, when its final Ebola patient was declared free of the illness.

Nubia Soumah, a newborn of 19 days, tested negative for the virus twice in a row and the result was released, starting the countdown.

Tass, speaking on official radio, said that 42 days without new cases was the criteria laid down by the World Health Organization.

“Today, Guinea can claim that it is well-equipped and ready to fight," the spokesman said.

Tass also called on the Guinean public not to abandon hygiene rules to avoid a renewed spread of the virus.

Guinea has fought the outbreak, which claimed more than 11,000 lives across the region, since early 2014.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluid of an infected person.