By Nikebia Brown-Joseph Staff Writer
What is the Ebola Virus?
The Ebola virus disease has caused much panic throughout the world this year. In March, a major outbreak began in West Africa, affecting countries including Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. According to the New York Times, there have also been 10 cases reported in the U.S., two of which have resulted in death.
For history teacher Edna Williams, it hit close to home.
Williams has family living in Liberia. She says they stayed safe by following their government’s instructions, which include staying indoors, when possible and washing hands often.
“I think they handled it well,” she said. “The measures they put in place to cure and prevent spread of the virus worked well.”
Though there weren’t many cases in the U.S., DIA students still had concerns.
“I was really worried for a while, even though I felt like people were being sort of irrational about the whole situation,” junior Ayesha Khatun said. “For now, it’s been resolved, so I hope people stop panicking.”
“I didn’t really know what was happening at first. I just knew people concerned,” junior Nazifa Chowdhury. “A lot of people I saw online were making wild statements as well as a lot of ignorant jokes. I’m just glad that the whole hysteria is dying down and we can go back to being rational.”
Nikebia Brown-Joseph
