IT GETS WORSE

CDC: Ebola Outbreak May Reach 1.4M

Only a surge now can stop it.

The Ebola epidemic may reach as many as 21,000 people by Sept. 30 and 1.4 million people by Jan. 20, according to a new worst-case scenario envisioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC report released Tuesday, and explained on a phone call with reporters, estimates that there are 2.5 times as many cases as are being reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. (The New York Times reported Liberia claims only 10 people in Freetown have died of the Ebola virus, when in fact 110 Ebola victims were buried in the past 10 days alone.) The CDC’s best-case scenario sees the epidemic “almost ended” by January. “A surge now could break the back of the epidemic,” CDC Director Tom Frieden told reporters. As of Tuesday, the World Health Organization estimates that the Ebola outbreak has reached 5,843 cases and 2,803 deaths.