Liberia Places Restrictions On Ebola Coverage

Liberia's government has said that journalists will now need official
permission to cover the Ebola outbreak under new rules aimed at
protecting patient privacy.

The move was announced on Thursday, the same day an American cameraman
working for NBC News in Liberia became the first foreign journalist to
test positive for Ebola. There was no indication that the new rules
were related to that case.

Growing international media interest in the outbreak, which has killed
nearly 2,000 people and infected 3,696 in Liberia, has highlighted the
challenges to the West African country's health-care system.

Journalists could be arrested and prosecuted if they fail to get
written permission from the health ministry before contacting Ebola
patients, conducting interviews or filming or photographing
health-care facilities, officials said.

"We have noted with great concern that photographs have been taken in
treatment centres while patients are going in to be attended by
doctors. That is invasion of the dignity, privacy and respect of
patients," Tolbert Nyenswah, assistant minister of health and head of
Liberia's Ebola Incident Management, said.

"Ebola patients are no different from any other patients. We should do
that (report) under permission so that we don't just take pictures or
send out stories of naked people (in a way) that does not respect
their privacy," he said.