Ebola outbreak expands in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Patients flee isolation centers. Funeral teams attacked.

The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo (DRC) is worsening. A burial team was attacked while attempting to bury Ebola victims. Additionally, 11 Ebola patients escaped from the isolation center. The epidemic has spread to new health districts, making epidemic control even more difficult.

Bloomberg reported that according to the epidemic report released by the Congolese (DRC) authorities on Wednesday (June 3rd), in Katana town of South Kivu province, a team responsible for safely burying Ebola victims was attacked. The staff were forced to abandon the coffins and evacuate. The bodies of the deceased were then handled by the community residents. Health officials warned that this action might lead to new transmission chains.

In the hardest-hit province of Ituri, 11 patients escaped from the isolation facility. The activities of the local armed group continue to impede humanitarian aid and the tracking of the epidemic.

The Rimba area in Ituri Province has become a new epidemic zone, increasing the number of affected health districts in Ituri Province to 17 and the total number across the country to 25. The report warns that the epidemic is showing "active community transmission".

After concluding his visit to the affected area on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the current response to the epidemic is still lagging behind the rate of spread, but it is gradually catching up under the leadership of the Congolese government. "The key to ending the epidemic is not just biomedical measures, but also leadership, community trust and cooperation."

As of now, Congo (DRC) has a total of 363 confirmed cases and 62 deaths. On Tuesday (the 2nd), 19 new cases were reported.

In the three provinces affected by the Ebola epidemic, over 4,200 close contacts have been tracked. However, in the past 24 hours, the monitoring team was only able to contact less than half of them.

A confirmed patient from the Democratic Republic of the Congo had traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Uganda.

The World Health Organization disclosed on Wednesday that a confirmed patient from the Democratic Republic of the Congo had traveled to the United Arab Emirates and then arrived in Uganda.

Tandetse said at the press conference that this Congolese resident was one of the 15 confirmed Ebola cases in Uganda.

He also said that the World Health Organization is collaborating with Uganda and the United Arab Emirates "to collect more information, assess the exposure risks during travel, and assist in contact tracing efforts".

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that 16 people in the United Arab Emirates and 58 people in Uganda have been quarantined for observation due to possible exposure to the virus.

As of June 2nd, none of the quarantined individuals in the United Arab Emirates had shown any symptoms; in Uganda, there have been a total of 15 confirmed cases and one death.