Sierra Leone's Ebola head says there's hope with only 4 cases

HEALTH

Sierra Leone's Ebola head says there's hope with only 4 cases

The Associated Press Published Thursday, August 6, 2015 11:21AM EDT

A healthcare worker washes his hands and boots at an Ebola treatment centre in the Hastings area of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014. (AP / Michael Duff)

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FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - Sierra Leone's head of Ebola says the country has only four cases of Ebola and he is hopeful the countdown to zero can soon begin.

National Emergency Response Center chief Alfred Palo Conteh said Thursday that two of those cases have proven negative after treatments, and the other two in the northern Tonkolili district are in treatment. Sierra Leone quarantined 500 people in the district after a man died from Ebola the other week. The area had not seen the deadly virus for months.

Palo Conteh said "the end of this virus is in sight."

He said 92 people, who are being monitored, remain at high risk of developing Ebola.