The global fight against the deadly Ebola virus has achieved a temporary victory but more efforts are needed to contain the disease after it has affected 9,216 people and claimed 4,555 lives.
At a press conference on Monday in Dallas, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the United States, officials declared that 43 people who may have had contact with Tomas Eric Duncan, the first diagnosed Ebola patient on U.S. soil, free of the virus.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called the day a "milestone day," implying that the first group of people possibly exposed to Ebola in the country are cleared of the risk now.
"We are breathing a little easier," Rawlings said, "but we are still holding our breath a fair amount until Nov. 7."
The mayor said 120 people on the watch list, 75 of them hospital staffers involved in treating Duncan, will come out of the quarantine period on Nov. 7. The incubation period of Ebola is 21 days at most, and the virus is communicable only after symptoms are shown.
In Europe, Teresa Romero, a Spanish nurse who earlier this month became the first person outside of Africa to be infected by Ebola, showed to have "zero virus" in her blood on Sunday, local media reported Monday.
Romero will undergo a second test this week to confirm the results of Sunday's test, which if positive, will mean she has recovered from the virus.
Silje Michalsen, a Norwegian doctor who was infected with the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone, has been discharged from hospital after recovering from the deadly disease, doctors at Oslo's Ulleval hospital said Monday.
Michalsen had been working for Doctors Without Borders in Sierra Leone for months when she developed a fever on Oct. 2 and tested Ebola positive the next day. She said she was happy with her fast evacuation on Oct. 6 from Sierra Leone to Norway for treatment.
In Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared Nigeria Ebola-free on Monday, after no new cases were confirmed in the past 42 days.
"This is a spectacular success story that shows to the world that Ebola can be contained," WHO Country Representative in Nigeria Rui Dama Gaz said, noting the war against the disease will only end in the region when West Africa is also declared free.
Nigeria was the second country in West Africa to be declared Ebola-free in the past week. On Friday, the UN health agency declared Senegal free of Ebola after it passed the 42-day landmark.
When the world is cautiously optimistic about the combat to contain the Ebola disease, developed countries are rethinking the lapses that emerged when treating Ebola patients, while developing countries are endeavoring to be prepared for possible outbreak.
On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for how health workers should gear up to treat Ebola patients.
The guidelines call for face shields, hoods, boot covers and other garb that leave no part of the body exposed. They also call for a trained monitor to supervise the donning and doffing of protective wear. And they call for repeated training and practice.
The move came amid protests from health care workers who claim safety protocols for Ebola treatment are insufficient and outdated. Two nurses who contracted the virus when caring for Duncan, the country's only two transmission cases till now, were believed to have worn protective suits that did not cover their necks.
European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Monday the EU was preparing terms of reference for a possible coordinator who can ensure the most effective engagement between the bloc, its member states and the United Nations in dealing with the Ebola crisis.
She said the EU and its member states had pledged about 640 million U.S. dollars in assistance to the fight against Ebola, and recognized the need to make an increased effort.
British Prime Minister David Cameron wants a two-day summit of the 28 EU leaders ending Friday to reach the 1.27-billion-dollar aid threshold, agreeing on a variety of topics from more financial aid to common repatriation procedures, more Ebola treatment facilities and better training for health care workers.
Chinese health authorities on Monday urged local health administrative departments and hospitals to fully prepare for potential Ebola cases.
Hospitals designated to treat Ebola cases should secure supplies of apparatus, medicines, disinfectants and protective gear for necessary treatment as well as ambulances for patient transfers, China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a statement.
Earlier this month, China pledged 6 million U.S. dollars to assist 1.3 million people impacted by the Ebola virus outbreak in the three most-affected countries -- Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Latin American countries, at an extraordinary summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America in Cuba Monday, also highlighted the importance of joint efforts to prevent the spread of Ebola.
So far, Cuba has sent 165 doctors and nurses to Sierra Leone to combat the disease, while Venezuela has contributed 5 million U.S. dollars.