Gunmen attack Congo hospital treating Ebola patients over relatives’ bodies

A group of armed young men stormed a Congo hospital treating Ebola patients amid the ongoing outbreak on Sunday evening, forcing staff to evacuate patients during rounds of heavy gunfire, The Associated Press reported.

It was not immediately known if anyone was hurt in the attack on the Mongbwalu General Hospital, but Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director, told the AP that the attackers demanded that two bodies of their kin be handed over to them.

There was gunfire, and the medics were trying to evacuate the patients and the staff, Lokudu told the news agency in a phone interview.

“Mongbwalu General Hospital is on general alert,” he added. He did not share any further details.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, with more than 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The gunfire attack was the third violent incident within four days at Congo health facilities amid a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak, exacerbated by a lack of resources and public health-care infrastructure.

On Saturday, an Ebola treatment centre set up by the Doctors Without Borders humanitarian group in a town at the epicentre of the crisis was burned to the ground by Congolese locals who became frustrated while trying to retrieve the body of a local man, the AP said.

During that attack, 18 people with suspected Ebola infections fled the temporary facility and were unaccounted for, Lokudu said in a previous statement.

On Thursday, another treatment centre, in the town of Rwampara, was burned down after family members were banned from retrieving the body of a local man suspected of dying of Ebola.

Corpses of infected Ebola patients can be highly contagious, and contact with them can lead to further spread of the disease when people prepare them for burial and gather for funeral services.

In response to the outbreak, Congolese authorities have mandated that the dangerous work of burying suspected victims be managed wherever possible by authorities, which can be met by protests from families and friends.

On Friday, the government said funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people would be banned in northeastern Congo to curb the spread of the virus.

The WHO has said the outbreak poses a “very high” risk for Congo, which has been upgraded from its previous categorization of “high,” but that the risk of a global spread remains low.

Last week, Canadian health authorities introduced enhanced screening measures for Ebola at airports for returning travellers after an individual who was tested in Ontario tested negative for the deadly virus.

Dr. Joss Reimer, Canada’s chief public health officer, said during a virtual press conference last week that “comprehensive” screening has been in place at Canadian airport inspection kiosks since Wednesday and includes additional questions asking returning airline passengers whether they have been to the Democratic Republic of Congo or neighbouring Uganda within 21 days of arriving in Canada.

No travel ban is currently in place for Canadians, though an existing advisory urging Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to and within the region due to a fragile security situation was already in effect.

Some U.S. travel bans are in effect, including for green card holders who have been to the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days, Reuters reported.

— with files from The Associated Press and Global News’ Sean Boynton