On 12 January 2020, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that anovel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[3][4]
On 16 March, the first case in Liberia was confirmed, a government official who traveled fromSwitzerland.[8] PresidentGeorge Weah controversially named the person, and claimed they violated screening protocols atRoberts International Airport (RIA) inHarbel.[9]
The second case was confirmed on 17 March, a close contact of the first case.[10]
Liberia's third case ofCOVID-19 was confirmed on 20 March. The third person was a returned traveler. Following this third case, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare declared a national health emergency on 22 March.[11][12]
On 24 March, neighboringIvory Coast announced it closed land borders with Liberia andGuinea in a measure to contain COVID-19.[13]
On 5 April, theGerman Embassy together with theEuropean Union organized a charter flight evacuating its citizens.[17]
On 7 April, President George Weah appointed a new National Response Coordinator for the Executive Committee on Coronavirus. The committee will be headed by former mayor of theCity of Monrovia, MadamMary Broh.[18][19] Some experts questioned Broh's ability to effectively coordinate the pandemic response given her inexperience in public health protocols. However, her appointment was noted to have been as a result of recommendations from the United Nations, particularly theWorld Health Organization.[20][17]
On 8 April, PresidentGeorge Weah declared lock-down measures to take effect on April 10 and last for 3 weeks, including suspension of all non-essential travel and curfews.[21] Schools were closed across the country, and churches, mosques, bars, and beaches in parts of the country.[12] The National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) recorded a record increase in the number of confirmed cases from 14 to 31, an increase of 17 new cases. They also reported 1 more death.
On 21 April, Liberia's legislature wrote a resolution requiring the public to wear masks in public. Enforcement of the law is unclear.[22] As of that date, 29 confirmed cases were healthcare workers (out of 101 total confirmed cases).[23]
During the month there were 138 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 141. There were 45 recoveries and 16 deaths, leaving 80 active cases at the end of the month.[24]
There were 147 new cases in May, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 288. Eleven patients died, raising the total death toll to 27. The number of recovered patients rose by 112 to 157, leaving 104 active cases at the end of the month.[25]
On 22 June, PresidentGeorge Weah extended the state of emergency by 30 days.[26]
During the month, there were 492 new cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 780. The death toll rose by 9 to 36. By the end of the month 324 patients had recovered, leaving 420 active cases.[27]
There were 406 new cases in July,[29] 118 in August,[30] 39 in September,[31] 83 in October,[32] 169 in November,[33] and 205 in December.[34] The total number of cases stood at 1186 in July,[29] 1304 in August,[30] 1343 in September,[31] 1426 in October,[32] 1595 in November,[33] and 1800 in December.[34]
The number of recovered patients stood at 670 in July,[29] 1221 in September,[31] 1279 in October,[32] 1343 in November,[33] and 1406 in December,[34] leaving 441 active cases at the end of July,[29] 350 at the end of August,[30] 40 at the end of September,[31] 65 at the end of October,[32] 169 at the end of November,[33] and 311 at the end of December.[34]
The death toll more than doubled to 75 in July[29] and rose to 82 and 83 in August and November respectively.[30][33]
There were 4,478 confirmed cases in 2021, bringing the total number of cases to 6,278. 204 persons died, bringing the total death toll to 287.[35]
Modelling carried out by the Regional Office for Africa of the WHO suggests that due to under-reporting, the true number of cases by the end of 2021 was around 2.2 million while the true number of COVID-19 deaths was more than three thousand.[36]
Vaccination started on 1 April, initially with 96,000 doses ofAstraZeneca'sCovishield vaccine provided through theCOVAX pillar. Two weeks into the vaccination campaign, 2735 persons had received their first inoculation.[37]
Liberia was one of the first countries to start screening passengers for COVID-19 atairports.[12] However, initially it had just one or two functioningPCR analysis devices.[28]
On 18 March,China donated medical supplies to Liberia.[41]
There has been controversy in the country over whether people with infections should be named. The National Public Health Institute of Liberia's policy was to not release names of people with infections to reduce stigmatization and protect privacy, but other government officials (President George Weah, Information MinisterLenn Eugene Nagbe) have advocated for releasing names for better contact tracing.[43]
