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Liberia's president is ordering most civil servants to stay home another month in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus ravaging the country.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made the announcement in a statement circulating Monday and promised that workers would still be paid.

Already the nation's schools are closed in an effort to keep large numbers of people from gathering and potentially spreading the disease.

Liberia has suffered the most deaths amid the Ebola outbreak that has hit five countries across West Africa. The World Health Organization says up to 20,000 people may contract the deadly virus before it is put under control, and that it could take six months to do so. More than 1,500 have died across West Africa from Ebola.