BUNIA, Congo — A new school year began across the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday even as parents and teachers in the Ebola epicenter urged delay. Government figures put the Bundibugyo outbreak at 6,100 confirmed cases and 2,950 deaths as of Tuesday, the Associated Press reported from Bunia.
The Ituri teachers’ union had called for a pause. Authorities pressed ahead. Some government schools in Ituri saw low turnout. UNICEF said it is supporting measures to limit transmission in classrooms. In the highest-risk subdivisions, the Education Ministry has shifted pupils to home worksheets and radio lessons rather than in-person class.
There is still no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo ebolavirus. Congo has been giving front-line workers Ervebo, licensed for Zaire ebolavirus, on a compassionate and trial basis. The World Health Organization has said the outbreak remains on track to surpass the 2014–16 West Africa epidemic.
Britain said Tuesday it would provide more than £50 million in new funding for surveillance, treatment, infection control, and safe burials, bringing its total contribution to about £78 million, Reuters reported. Africa minister Kirsty McNeill told MPs the extra money would take the UK commitment to £78.7 million. “As the outbreak intensifies, we are accelerating our response to match the pace and scale of the challenge,” she said.
The Associated Press reported the school restart from Bunia.
Sources: The Associated Press; Al Jazeera; Reuters; The Independent.
