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DRC Says No Plans to Close Schools Amid Ebola Outbreak
(MENAFN) The Congolese government has ruled out shutting down schools in the country's outbreak-stricken eastern provinces, even as the deadly Ebola virus has claimed the lives of at least five students since the current surge began in mid-May, a senior official confirmed Saturday.
Health Minister Roger Kamba addressed reporters in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, where he outlined a strategy centered on containment rather than closure — framing school shutdowns as a form of collective punishment against children already bearing the burden of the crisis.
"We are not going to close schools. We are going to put in place preventive measures so as not to punish children twice," he told reporters.
The minister nonetheless expressed grave concern over the five student fatalities recorded in Ituri province, attributing the deaths directly to self-medication and dangerous delays in seeking professional medical care. Kamba urged families to abandon home treatment practices and immediately refer suspected cases to qualified health facilities.
The outbreak is concentrated across three eastern provinces — Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu — where the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is circulating. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this particular strain carries a fatality rate of between 30% and 50% among confirmed cases.
The WHO's latest figures show at least 134 confirmed Ebola cases reported across Congo and Uganda combined during the current outbreak. Nine of those confirmed cases were recorded in Uganda, while the death toll among confirmed cases in both countries stands at 18. Congolese health authorities warn that new suspected cases continue to emerge daily, with cumulative suspected infections surpassing 1,000 since the outbreak was formally declared.
Health Minister Roger Kamba addressed reporters in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, where he outlined a strategy centered on containment rather than closure — framing school shutdowns as a form of collective punishment against children already bearing the burden of the crisis.
"We are not going to close schools. We are going to put in place preventive measures so as not to punish children twice," he told reporters.
The minister nonetheless expressed grave concern over the five student fatalities recorded in Ituri province, attributing the deaths directly to self-medication and dangerous delays in seeking professional medical care. Kamba urged families to abandon home treatment practices and immediately refer suspected cases to qualified health facilities.
The outbreak is concentrated across three eastern provinces — Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu — where the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is circulating. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this particular strain carries a fatality rate of between 30% and 50% among confirmed cases.
The WHO's latest figures show at least 134 confirmed Ebola cases reported across Congo and Uganda combined during the current outbreak. Nine of those confirmed cases were recorded in Uganda, while the death toll among confirmed cases in both countries stands at 18. Congolese health authorities warn that new suspected cases continue to emerge daily, with cumulative suspected infections surpassing 1,000 since the outbreak was formally declared.
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