I was surprised to read in this article that so many hospital beds in Liberia's capital go unused. Apparently, it is because people are afraid of dying and being cremated instead of buried. The article says half the 742 beds are empty. I'm surprised because I keep reading about sick people who are turned away from hospitals and clinics because they are no beds.

So there are some major cultural issues to work through beyond just building and staffing more Ebola treatment units. And if people are kept at home in secret, then isolation, contact tracing, and safe burial are put at risk.

Quote:
Cremation violates Liberians' values and cultural practices and the order has so disturbed people in the west African nation that the sick are often kept at home and, if they die, are secretly buried, increasing the risk of more infections...The order came after people in neighborhoods of the capital resisted burials of hundreds of Ebola victims near their homes.