Sierra Leone is officially Ebola-free

The World Health Organization declared Sierra Leone Ebola-free in a ceremony Saturday, marking 42 days with no new cases of the deadly virus, Reuters reports. Thousands gathered to celebrate with a candlelight vigil in Freetown, the nation's capital.

Since March 2014, more than 11,300 have died of Ebola, with West Africa hit hardest. Liberia is also Ebola-free, but Guinea is not. Sierra Leone's first Ebola survivor, Victoria Yillia, urged authorities to remember her fellow survivors, many of whom have experienced stigma as well as ongoing health problems.

"People are happy, but also, many are depressed because they lost their families," a National Ebola Response Center spokesperson told The New York Times of the celebration in Sierra Leone.

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