Residents of Sierra Leone’s capital held a candlelit vigil and celebrations to mark the end of an Ebola epidemic that has killed almost 4,000 people including more than 220 health workers since it began last year.

Following 42 days with no new cases, the West African nation’s epidemic was declared over yesterday at a ceremony attended by President Ernest Bai Koroma and UN World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Anders Nordstrom.

Thousands of people gathered overnight around the Cotton Tree, a massive tree in the centre of Freetown, for a candlelit vigil organised by women’s groups to pay tribute to health workers who lost their lives.

“They died so we could live,” university student Fatmata said with tears in her eyes. Many of the health workers who died were infected due to inadequate protective equipment and training.

The country’s first confirmed Ebola survivor,Victoria Yillia, told the crowd she was “happy that this disease which almost killed me has finally ended”. She appealed to authorities not to forget survivors, many of whom have faced social stigma and persistent health problems.

Elsewhere in the city, residents celebrated the end of the epidemic, which forced schools to close, overwhelmed healthcare systems and hurt the local economy.

“We’re happy. I feel free again after a period of bondage in the hands of Ebola,” said trader Joseph Katta as he clutched a pint of beer at a pub in the suburb of Lumley.