WEST African nations are taking drastic measures in a desperate effort to stem the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

    Guinea has closed its border with Sierra Leone, a border police official told CNN.

    Meanwhile, the Zambian Government banned arrivals of people from countries where there has been an Ebola outbreak as a preventive measure to stop the virus from entering the country.

    “All delegates from any of the countries affected by the Ebola virus are restricted from entering Zambia until further notice,” Dr. Joseph Kasonde, Zambia’s minister of health, said in a statement Saturday.

    The virulent virus continues to advance from its epicenter in Sierra Leone to nearby Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria. Other West African governments are attempting to contain the outbreak, which has been declared a “public health emergency of international concern” by the World Health Organization.

    Nearly 1,800 cases, including 961 deaths, are attributed to the virus, the World Health Organization says.

    Nigeria and Liberia have declared states of national emergency in an effort to control the unprecedented epidemic.

    The United States and the United Kingdom vowed Saturday to increase assistance to help combat the disease in West Africa.

    Another group of Chinese experts left for three affected West African nations in separate teams Sunday. Three Chinese teams are already working in these three countries.

    China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced aid worth 30 million yuan (US$4.9 million) for Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

    China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) is also sending medical supplies to the three countries.

    Chinese experts will help train local medical workers and assist Chinese embassies in these countries to distribute medical supplies.

    This is the second round of Ebola relief from China. In May, the country sent its first batch of relief goods to Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, valued at 1 million yuan for each country.(SD-Agencies)Volunteers lower a corpse, which is prepared with safe burial practices to ensure it does not pose a health risk to others and stop the chain of person-to-person transmission of Ebola, into a grave in Kailahun, Sierra Leone on July 18, 2014.

    SD-Agencies