United Nations, Shawwal 4, 1435, Jul 31, 2014, SPA -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history now has killed more than 700 people across West Africa. According to figures released Thursday by the U.N. health agency in Dakar, Senegal, at least 57 deaths have been reported in recent days, with half the new fatalities in Liberia. The president of Liberia ordered the country's schools to close on Wednesday and also demanded that most government employees stay home in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly disease. Sierra Leone, where nine new deaths were reported, also has declared a public-health emergency and is attempting to quarantine sick people at home who have refused to go to isolation centers. Ebola cases first emerged in Guinea in March, thought the crisis has sharply deepened in the last week. --SPA 23:22 LOCAL TIME 20:22 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w