Sierra Leone to reopen schools in March as Ebola infections slow

Schools in Sierra Leone will reopen in March, the West African nation's government said on Wednesday, eight months after students were sent home and classes shuttered following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.

The reopening of schools is another sign the tide may be turning against the outbreak, the worst on record, as infections and the spread of the virus is gradually brought under control.

The outbreak has killed about 8,626 people in the three worst-hit West African nations - Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia - and infected nearly 21,700 people, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.