Ebola in DRC: the travellers from affected areas subject to a 21-day observation period

Kinshasa, June 25^th, 2026 (CPA).- The requirement for people arriving from Ebola-affected areas to undergo a 21-day observation period before travelling has been announced on Thursday by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the confirmation in France of a case of infection in a doctor who had returned from Ituri, according to an official statement. “In order to prevent any spread of the virus, the Government announces that anyone returning from an affected area must now undergo a 21-day observation period before travelling again, whether domestically or internationally,” it is read in the statement of the Ministry in charge of Health. The Congolese Government has clarified that the case confirmed by the French health authorities involves an intensive care doctor deployed by the humanitarian organisation ALIMA as part of the response to Ebola. According to the statement, the doctor has worked from May 22nd to June 19^th, 2026, at the Ebola Treatment Centre at the Rwampara Evangelical Medical Centre in Ituri province, before leaving Bunia for Kinshasa, where he has stayed until June 22^nd, and then travelling to France the following day. The Congolese authorities state that, according to information provided by his organisation, the individual “showed no clinical signs suggestive of Ebola virus disease” either when he left Bunia or during his stay in Kinshasa. The Government reminds us, however, that due to his role within the response team, this healthcare professional was considered to be at potential risk of infection. The statement specifies that the doctor, aware that he had been in the epicentre of the outbreak, has voluntarily presented himself at a healthcare facility upon his arrival in France, where laboratory tests have confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. The Government indicates that it has officially referred the matter to the French authorities to ensure “the sharing of data enabling the tracing and monitoring of contacts who may have been exposed on Congolese territory, as well as the coordination of follow-up in France”, in accordance with the International Health Regulations. It also reminds us that a person infected with Ebola “only becomes infectious when symptoms appear” and that “the disease is transmitted only through direct contact”. The epidemiological surveillance measures remain fully operational at the main points of entry and exit from the country, particularly at Bunia and Kinshasa airports. According to the statement, these mechanisms cover the entire alert management chain, from the detection of suspected cases through to their isolation, biological confirmation, and the identification and monitoring of contacts for twenty-one days.ACP/