Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
As coronavirus spreads around the world, there are some good news coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo where the last Ebola patient has been successfully treated and sent home, according to the World Health Organization.
The good news could mean an end to the world’s second-deadliest outbreak of the disease, CNN said.
According to WHO, at least 2,226 people were killed in the current outbreak in Congo, which began in August 2018 – its tenth since the virus was discovered in 1976.
It lasted for 20 months and armed conflict and violence in Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces made things worse as care workers fled after several of them were killed.
At least 11, 300 people were killed in the largest Ebola outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016.
In February, four countries in Africa: the Democratic Republic of Congo; Burundi; Ghana and Zambia licensed an Ebola vaccine. More countries will be added to the list, the WHO said.
The release of the last Ebola patient in Congo could not have come at a better time when the coronavirus outbreak is spreading around the world. At least 3200 people have been killed and more than 95,000 people have been infected. COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus has spread to over 80 countries.
In Congo, WHO said the last Ebola patient had been undergoing treatment at a medical center in Beni town, one of the hotspots of the recent outbreak which began in August 2018.
There was a big celebration during her release and WHO Africa region on Tuesday tweeted a video of care workers singing and dancing with the patient as the community gathered at the medical center to rejoice over her release.
The 46 people who had come in contact with the patient are still being monitored for Ebola symptoms.
WHO regional director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti called for caution and vigilance.
“It is not yet the end of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We must stay vigilant in the coming weeks and beyond,” Dr. Moeti said in the statement.
