Residents have set part of a hospital isolation tent ablaze amid rising tensions over the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to the BBC, the incident occurred after relatives
and supporters of a young man believed to have died from Ebola attempted to
take his body from Rwampara General Hospital near Bunia in Ituri province — the
epicentre of the outbreak where most cases have been recorded — for burial but
were denied access.
Police reportedly fired warning shots to disperse the crowd
as violence escalated.
Health authorities insist on controlled burials for Ebola
victims because bodies remain highly infectious and can contribute to further
transmission.
Following the incident, medical workers at the hospital were
placed under military protection while security operatives moved to restore
order.
Jean Claude Mukendi, coordinator of the Ebola security
response in Ituri, said the deceased was a well-known figure in the community
and many residents struggling to accept his death failed to understand the
severity of the disease.
The victim was said to be a footballer who had played for
several local teams. His mother reportedly insisted that he died of typhoid
fever and not Ebola.
Luc Malembe Malembe, a local politician, blamed
misinformation and poor awareness for the violence.
“People are not properly informed or sensitised about what
is happening. For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote
areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders — it does not exist,” BBC quoted him
as saying.
“They believe NGOs and hospitals created this to make money,
and this is tragic.”
He added that two isolation tents were destroyed in the
fire, including a body that had been awaiting burial.
Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, DR Congo’s foreign minister,
described the incident as a “very frightening situation” for affected
communities.
She said authorities were intensifying response efforts in
outbreak areas to ensure residents feel “safe, understood and heard”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends “safe and
dignified burials” for Ebola victims, with specially trained teams handling
bodies using protective equipment.
On Friday, WHO upgraded the risk of Ebola outbreak in DRC as
very high.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said there
has been abiut 750 suspected cases in the DR Congo and 177 suspected deaths.
“We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the
national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level, the
WHO chief said.
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