Liberia is releasing its final Ebola patient today

Liberia is very close to being declared Ebola-free — (Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

On Thursday, Liberia plans to release its final Ebola patient from a Chinese-built hospital in Monrovia, the capital, according to Tolbert Nyenswah, the head of the country's Incidence Management System. The recovered patient is the last known case of Ebola in Liberia, and if no new cases emerge in the next 42 days, the country will be declared Ebola-free.

Almost 10,000 people have died since the world's worst Ebola outbreak started a year ago, and Liberia shouldered the highest number of deaths. Ebola cases are also down sharply in neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone, although on Tuesday, Sierra Leone reported nine new cases within 24 hours.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.