Angry Mob Attacks Ebola Hospital in DRC, Setting Fire to Tents

Bunia. An angry mob has set fire to and vandalized a hospital at the epicenter of the Ebola epidemic in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The mob attacked the hospital after being denied permission to take the body of a youth who died from the Ebola virus for final rites by family and friends. 

Local politician Luke Malembe Malembe said that locals hurled stones and set fire to tents used as isolation wards at the Rwampara General Hospital near Bunia city in Ituri province. Police also had to fire in the air to control the situation and disperse the mob.

Due to the highly infectious nature of the bodies of Ebola-infected deceased, there is a legal provision for authorities to conduct safe final rites to prevent the spread of the virus. However, Jean Claude Mukendi, coordinator of the Ebola security response in Ituri, informed that this incident occurred because people who were shocked by the death of the youth, who was a very popular local football player, could not understand the seriousness and reality of the disease.

The mother of the deceased claimed that her son died of typhoid fever, not Ebola. According to local leader Malembe, some people in remote areas do not even believe that the Ebola virus is real. He said, 'People lack proper information and awareness about this. A section of the population considers Ebola to be just a myth created by outsiders to make money, which is very unfortunate.'

Two isolation tents and a body kept for final rites were destroyed in the fire at the hospital. One health worker was injured by a stone during the attack, and doctors and health workers have been placed under army security due to security sensitivities. 

Six Ebola patients were undergoing treatment in the tents that were set on fire. Although reports of the patients fleeing initially surfaced, the medical humanitarian organization 'ALIMA', which operates the tents, clarified that all patients are safe and are currently being treated within the hospital.

Due to this epidemic, the national football team of the DRC has also canceled its pre-World Cup training camp scheduled in the capital Kinshasa. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this outbreak a 'public health emergency of international concern,' it has stated that it has not reached the level of a global pandemic. 

According to the WHO, out of 600 suspected cases so far, 139 have died. However, Congo's Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba stated through government media that 159 deaths have been registered so far.

This virus has also appeared in Uganda, a neighboring country of the DRC. After two Ebola cases were found in Uganda, its authorities have imposed temporary restrictions on all public transport, including flights, buses, and others, crossing the border with Congo. In addition, full restriction has been imposed on the operation of passenger boats plying the Semliki River flowing in the border area between the two countries.