He said traders who had registered with security agencies would be able to bring in food and medicines. Security forces would mount foot patrols to ensure civilians did not slip past their roadblocks through the bush.



Among some of the world's poorest states, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea had shown signs of progress, leaving behind bloody civil wars fueled by post-colonial poverty. How much Ebola permanently hampers the sputtering economies remains to be seen. The outbreak is hampering transport of goods, tourism, and pulling workers from their mines and farm fields, either to care for the sick or to avoid falling ill themselves.



Liberian and Sierra Leonean officials appealed to major investors not to abandon their countries because of Ebola.



"My message is: 'Don't leave the country. Stay with us - let's fight this together'," Liberia's Finance Minister Amara Konneh said.