Congo re-opens airport at centre of Ebola outbreak

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 02, 2026 04:10 pm IST - Kinshasa Bunia airport in Ituri province after authorities in Democratic Republic of the Congo reopened services amid efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak. | Photo Credit: Reuters The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reopened the airport in the capital city of the province hit hardest by the ongoing Ebola outbreak, a government statement said, reversing a move that some residents said had cut them off from critical supplies. The government in Kinshasa announced last month that it was suspending passenger flights to Bunia, the main airport in Ituri, where the first Ebola cases were confirmed. Humanitarian and medical flights continued , subject to approvals. In a statement published late on Monday (June 1, 2026), Congo’s Transport Ministry said conditions were now in place “to allow a gradual and safe resumption of air transport activities” and that the airport would re-open immediately. The Ministry said all passengers would have their body temperatures screened before boarding and on arrival, that passengers were required to wash their hands before boarding and that any passenger with a fever would not be allowed to board. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on Friday (May 15, 2026) and the World Health Organization (WHO) swiftly declared it a public health emergency of international concern. The outbreak, already the third-largest on record, persisted for weeks undetected, say health officials, who are now behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control. The decision to re-open the airport in Bunia followed a visit from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who told reporters on Monday (June 1, 2026) he saw some encouraging signs in the response, including five certified recoveries. But he also noted the need to ramp up testing and treatment capacity and promote trust in health workers. There have been 321 confirmed Ebola cases including 48 confirmed deaths, according to the latest government figures on Monday (June 1, 2026). Ebola has reached 15 of 36 health zones in Ituri, and cases have also been reported in North and South Kivu provinces and in neighbouring Uganda. The International Rescue Committee warned on Monday (June 1, 2026) that the outbreak was probably significantly larger and more advanced than official figures suggested. The aid agency said the virus might have been spreading for up to three months before the first official cases were detected in mid-May. Democratic Republic of Congo / World Health Organization / public health/community medicine / safety of citizens / disease / viral diseases Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Congo re-opens airport at centre of Ebola outbreak

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Congo re-opens airport at centre of Ebola outbreak

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