Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo Surpasses 3,000 Deaths
6 sources across 6 countries
Who reported this
- Folha de S.Paulo
- Le Monde Afrique
- Frankfurter Allgemeine
- Business Day
- Reuters
- Associated Press
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has caused more than 3,000 deaths, according to updated government figures released on Wednesday. The Congolese National Institute of Public Health reports that 3,007 people have died out of 6,186 confirmed cases, resulting in a mortality rate of 48.6 percent. Approximately 1,409 patients have recovered, while 830 people remain in treatment or isolation. The current outbreak, which was officially declared in mid May, has spread across six provinces, including the remote province of Ituri in the northeast. This is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the country and is described by some reports as the worst in the nation's history. The epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or specific treatments. While vaccines for the Zaire strain exist, they are not homologated for the Bundibugyo variant. However, a phase 3 clinical trial using the Ervebo vaccine is underway, with 16,250 doses already arriving to protect frontline workers and test efficacy against this specific strain. The virus is spreading in areas where state presence is fragile and armed groups are active. In response to the crisis, the government recently decided to reopen schools in high risk red zones, concluding that the risk of pupils falling behind in their education outweighed the risk of transmission. In North Kivu province, which has recorded 868 cases, schools are implementing hygiene measures such as hand washing and social distancing. While the outbreak was declared over in neighboring Uganda, there are ongoing concerns regarding potential spread into the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- This outlet highlighted the fragility of the state and the lack of resources hindering the sanitary response.
- Centre
- These outlets focused on the statistical data and the general progression of the epidemic.
- Centre-right
- These outlets emphasized the lack of control over the virus and the specific logistical details of vaccine trials and school reopenings.
Sources
- Centre Associated Press: Congo’s Ebola outbreak shows no signs of slowing as deaths top 3,000 - AP News
- Centre-right Business Day: Congo drops remote learning plan in Ebola red zone as schools open
- Centre Folha de S.Paulo: Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo caused more than 3,000 deaths
- Centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine: Virus in Congo: The Ebola epidemic is out of control
- Centre-left Le Monde Afrique: Ebola in DRC: the epidemic causes more than 3,000 deaths, out of more than 6,000 confirmed cases
- Centre Reuters: Congo's Ebola outbreak kills more than 3,000, government figures show - Reuters
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.