Overview
- WHO raised the Democratic Republic of Congo national public‑health risk assessment from "high" to "very high" on Friday after reports showed roughly 750 suspected infections and about 177 deaths.
- Countries in the region and beyond expanded controls in response, with Uganda and Rwanda tightening border and flight rules and the United States imposing entry limits and requiring testing of returnees at Dulles Airport.
- Local Congo authorities have banned wakes to stop transmission tied to touching bodies and have ordered event‑specific quarantines, including a 21‑day isolation requirement for the Congo national football team.
- A U.S. physician infected in eastern Congo was flown to Charité hospital in Berlin, where PCR tests confirmed the Bundibugyo strain and doctors said he was severely weakened but not in critical condition; his wife and four children tested negative.
- Public‑health experts warn that customary funerary practices, cross‑border movement, and limited health infrastructure in eastern Congo make containment harder and that authorities will rely on case detection, isolation and contact tracing to curb spread.