While the cameras rolled, a man health workers thought had died from Ebola woke up as he was being carried off to the crematorium.
A crew from Good Morning America was filing a report in Monrovia, Liberia, when the drama began to unfold. In the video, Dr. Richard Besser explains that a day earlier, local residents had called for assistance with a man lying on the sidewalk; they weren't sure if he had Ebola, but knew he was deathly ill. Emergency responders never arrived, even after they called a second time. "This is a place right now where if you die from Ebola, they are very quick for you," Besser said. "If you're living and you need help, there's really nowhere to go."
Behind Besser, a burial team arrived to take away the body. Wearing protective suits, they sprayed the area with bleach and wrapped him in plastic. Then, as they began to take the man to the ambulance that would go to the crematorium, his arm moved. The crowd began to yell, and Besser said that he wasn't sure where the sick man would go, since there weren't any hospitals that could treat him, and he only looked like he would make it a few more hours.
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A community leader who spoke with Besser said the situation just further proved "we couldn't get him help when he was alive. They only come when you die." --Catherine Garcia
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