Liberia's top doctor quarantines herself to set an example in her Ebola-ridden country

The World
Bernice Dahn, Liberia's chief medical officer and deputy health minister, has put herself in quarantine as a precaution against Ebola after one of her assistants died from the disease.

Authorities in West Africa are urging everyone who has been in contact with an Ebola victim to remain isolated for 21 days — that's how long it takes for symptoms of the disease to present themselves. But remaining under quarantine is difficult, and not everyone is following the order.   

That's partly why Liberia's chief medical officer, Dr. Berenice Dahn, has quarantined herself in her own home in a very high profile way. "It's necessary that I set the example, so that when we tell others to do it, they take us seriously," Dahn says. She's also asked her entire office to follow suit. 

Dahn began the quarantine after one of her assistants at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare died of Ebola. Now she's one week into a 21-day monitoring period, and she admits it isn't easy.

Her life has changed in many ways, big and small. She laments that she can no longer share a room with her husband. She uses her own utensils and disinfects them. And hugging her kids is out of the question. A sadness creeps into her voice when she describes how she and her children used to cuddle. 

"Children come lie down on your bed and watch TV, and do the rest," she says. "They don't do that anymore."  

Dahn admits it's hard to forget "the fear of the unknown." But she's also cheered, and even appreciative of the quiet. "Days are going, and I'm still in good health," she notes. "It's been a lot of stress since the outbreak, and I've not had time to rest." 

She says it's not always easy for her own children to cope, either. Schools across Liberia remain closed, and the country's youth have had little to occupy themselves. "They think I'm overdoing it sometimes when I say, 'Don't touch this, don't touch the other,'" Dahn says. "But they are being supportive. They are OK."

Dahn is insisting that her children remain in the house, which doesn't always go over well. "They have to stay home, which is the rule I had in the house before. So now that I'm here, I'm here to supervise that," Dahn says. But it does provide a silver lining for her quarantine: "Sometimes they do not listen to the caretaker. But now that I'm here, they have to obey." 

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