Liberia 'chasing Ebola now', not other way around: president

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf delivers a speech during the arrival ceremony for the Royal Netherlands Navy Karel Doorman in the port of Monrovia, Liberia, on November 24, 2014 which is delivering Ebola relief supplies. By Zoom Dosso (AFP)

Monrovia (AFP) - President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Monday hailed Liberians' efforts in fighting the country's worst ever haemorrhagic fever outbreak, telling them: "Ebola was chasing us, today we are chasing Ebola."

The head-of-state has welcomed a dramatic drop in new cases of the virus, which has killed around 3,000 Liberians and another 2,500 in neighbouring Guinea and Sierra Leone this year.

She urged citizens to redouble their efforts to achieve a target of zero new cases by Christmas as she addressed a ceremony to welcome a Dutch aid ship bringing medical supplies from several European countries to Monrovia.

"A few months ago Ebola was chasing us, today we are chasing Ebola. Right now our people are out there doing contact tracing. Communities are taking responsibility and they are taking ownership," she said.

"They are going in every home to see who is sick so they can take the sick to the treatment centre. They are going to see those who have been abandoned so they can see what they can do for them.

"And those who have been freed from the disease... those people are now being integrated into their communities so we are calling on all the communities to walk with them."

Sirleaf warned, however, that she had seen signs of complacency such as residents no longer stationing disinfectant hand-washing stations outside their homes as new cases around the capital dropped.

"I can see some relaxation. I am going around in the communities to make sure that those who have put their buckets in the house bring them out, to make sure we are not shaking hands again, to make sure we are identifying the sick. With that we can achieve our goal," she said.