The Republic of Congo suffers coronavirus, Ebola, Measles at the same time. Few days to declare the country free from Ebola, a new case surfaced in the city of Beni, Congo.
The Ebola outbreak in Congo has so far claimed the lives of about 2200 people.
“At two days before the end, it is sad for us,” said Marie Roseline Belizaire, who manages part of the Ebola response for the WHO. “But we were still in response mode. And we will continue to be in response mode till the end.”
Congo has 215 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, a small number of which are in North Kivu province, where the Ebola outbreak is centered. The worst ongoing measles outbreak in the world has taken more than 6,000 lives in eastern Congo over the past year.
“[The new case] is a devastating development for the communities who are also under threat from the coronavirus outbreak, in addition to ongoing conflict and displacement,” said Kate Moger, who oversees the regional response for the International Rescue Committee. “This is now a triple emergency: vulnerable populations facing ongoing humanitarian crises, the spread of covid-19 and now again potentially a re-emerging Ebola crisis.”