00:00In our topics, the number of deaths from the Ebola outbreak in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo this month
00:07has increased to 88.
00:08The figures represent a significant increase in just 24 hours when the health authorities reported 80 fatalities and 246 infections.
00:19The World Health Organization warned that the epidemic has spread to neighboring Uganda, where a death from the disease was
00:26confirmed three days ago.
00:28Experts attribute the rapid spread to the puntibugio variant of the virus, which exhibits unusual activity and has the capacity
00:36to spread over long distances.
00:44In this context, on Sunday, Rwanda ordered the closure of border crossings with the Democratic Republic of the Congo after
00:52authorities confirmed a case of Ebola virus disease in the eastern city of Goma.
00:57The indefinite suspension applies to most cross-border movements, however limited health monitor exemptions remain in place, allowing stranded Rwandan
01:07and Congolese nationals on either side of the border to return to their respective countries.
01:12On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after at least 88
01:20deaths and more than 300 suspected cases were reported in the DRC amid the nation's 17th Ebola outbreak since the
01:28virus was first identified in 1976.
01:36We sent teams to take samples, and at 10 p.m. we confirmed that it was a case of Ebola.
01:43At the moment, the teams are already in place.
01:46As you know, this is not the first time we have managed Ebola outbreaks,
01:50which means that the teams are trained, as the authorities have confirmed, and that all the necessary resources are in
01:56place for treatment.
02:00And in this context, Congolese Health Minister Roger Samuel Kamba arrived in eastern Ituri province on Sunday to oversee the
02:08emergency response to the country's Ebola outbreak,
02:11urging the population to get treated to prevent the further spread of the virus.
02:18We have already deployed the response, and today we have come to supplement it with material and human resources from
02:29the Public Health Emergency Operations Center.
02:38The sooner we take care of the sick, the sooner we can treat them, and the sooner we can stop
02:45the spread of the virus.
02:47So it's not a mystical illness.
02:50Make yourself known so you can be treated, and the disease can be prevented from spreading.
02:55That's really the message. Treatment is free. Come and get it.
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