DR Congo rules out closing schools due to Ebola epidemic

The Congolese government has no plans to close schools in eastern provinces due to the spread of Ebola virus disease, which has already claimed the lives of at least five students since its current outbreak in mid-May, an official said Saturday.

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola concentrated in the three eastern Congolese provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu, carries a fatality rate of between 30% and 50% among confirmed cases, according to the WHO.

Health Minister Roger Kamba told reporters in Ituri provincial capital Bunia that the priority remains the strengthening of preventive measures in schools rather than their closure.

“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.

He, however, voiced concern over the deaths of at least five schoolchildren in Ituri province, which he blamed on self-medication and delays in medical care.

Kamba appealed to families to avoid home treatment and to quickly refer suspected cases to health facilities.

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) latest figures, at least 134 confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported in the current outbreak in the Congo and Uganda.

Congolese health authorities indicate that new suspected cases continue to be registered, with a cumulative number of over 1,000 recorded since the outbreak was declared.

The confirmed cases included nine recorded in Uganda, while deaths from Ebola stood at 18 among the confirmed cases in the two countries.