WHO urges lifting travel bans, reports lower Ebola cases than feared
Quick Look
- The WHO is urging countries to lift blanket travel bans, advocating for exit screening instead.
- Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that Ebola cases in the DRC are lower than feared, with 344 confirmed cases and 60 deaths as of June 1.
- Uganda has reported 15 confirmed cases and one death.
AI-generated summary
“We ask countries that have imposed blanket travel restrictions to lift them,” Tedros said, arguing instead for exit screening at airports, ports and border crossings to prevent cases and contacts.
Meanwhile, the WHO had some good news: Cases of Ebola are lower than experts had feared. Ramping up testing of suspected cases has shown that fewer of them were infected with the Bundibugyo strain of the virus that is spreading across the DRC.
Tedros said there were 344 confirmed cases and 60 deaths in the DRC, plus 116 suspected cases, as of June 1. In Uganda there have been 15 confirmed cases and one confirmed death. The WHO has set out the latest figures in a dashboard.
Previously, on May 29, the WHO had reported 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths in the DRC. For confirmed cases and deaths, the WHO had said there were 134 cases, including nine in Uganda, with 18 deaths across both countries.
Testing samples from those who died from suspected Ebola is still ongoing, the WHO said.
Tedros refrained from criticizing a U.S. plan to open a quarantine center in Kenya for Americans (currently suspended by a Kenyan court).
“They can do whatever they think is right for them,” he said, adding that he appreciated the collaboration with U.S. on sharing information and providing financial support.
“There is strong commitment at all levels and I’m really glad to see that,” he said.
