Congo to enforce Ebola emergency measures
Police will ‘force’ people who resist taking key steps to help contain disease
Goma, Congo - Authorities say Congolese soldiers and police will enforce hand-washing and fever checks now that the deadly Ebola outbreak has been declared an international health emergency.
The coordinator of the outbreak response at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry said Thursday that soldiers and police will “force” people who resist taking the key steps to help contain the deadly disease.
Dr. Aruna Abedi spoke to reporters in Goma, the city of more than 2 million people where a first Ebola case in this year-long outbreak was announced early this week. The regional crossroads is on the Rwanda border and has an international airport.
Traffic was flowing normally through the border on Thursday after the World Health Organization’s emergency declaration Wednesday night.
The second-worst Ebola outbreak in history has killed more than 1,600 people.