Kenya on Wednesday discharged its last Ebola patient, officially beginning the 42-day countdown toward being declared Ebola-free, even as the number of cases recorded in the wider region topped 11,000 since the outbreak began in May.

The country recorded nine Ebola cases in October after the first patient traveled from Congo through Uganda, transmitting the virus to four family members and four healthcare workers.

The first patient and his mother died of Ebola, while the other seven patients have fully recovered.