Ministers have not entirely given up hope that extending socialising bans around the country could be enough to control the epidemic without devastating the economy again.

During this period his laboratory made other scientific observations that helped to understand and control the epidemic.

The claims asked for the installation of the water and sanitation infrastructure necessary to control the epidemic, compensation for the victims, and an apology.

But there's also a practical reason-by controlling the epidemic at its source, it's less likely to come over and spread.

Those countries that have been most successful in controlling the epidemic are ones that appear to have embraced this advice most fully.