Angry crowd sets Ebola hospital tents on fire in DR Congo
Summary
A crowd in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) set fire to hospital tents used for Ebola patients after they were stopped from taking a dead man's body for burial. This shows the difficulty of controlling the Ebola outbreak, as local people are unsure about the virus and fear spreads.Key Facts
- The incident happened at Rwampara General Hospital near Bunia in Ituri province, where most Ebola cases are reported.
- The crowd became angry because they were not allowed to take the body of a man believed to have died of Ebola for burial.
- Police fired warning shots and medical workers received military protection during the unrest.
- The dead man was a well-known local football player; his family believes he died of typhoid, not Ebola.
- Some local people do not believe Ebola is real and think the outbreak is created by outsiders or hospitals for profit.
- Two hospital tents used as isolation wards were burned, and six patients who were being treated in the tents initially fled but were later accounted for.
- WHO calls for safe burials with protective gear to stop the virus from spreading.
- The Ebola outbreak has caused over 130 deaths, with 600 suspected cases in DR Congo, and two cases have appeared in Uganda, leading to travel restrictions there.
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