There has been a major drop in the number of suspected Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) outbreak, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, after an investigation ruled out many of them.
The WHO said there were now 321 confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC outbreak and 116 suspected cases — a significant drop from the 906 suspected cases of the virus reported last week.
Asked about the drop in suspected case numbers, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said, “They have been cleared out and have either other diseases or have just had fever and nothing else.” Lindmeier also confirmed there had been 48 deaths and six people had recovered in Congo.
The new figures came as two people were reportedly shot and killed in Kenya amid protests over the opening of a controversial U.S. isolation facility in the country.
Officials have not commented on the deaths, but the BBC reported that one person was shot close to a protest at the Laikipia Air Base and died in a hospital, while another was already dead when he arrived at a medical facility.
Plans to establish a 50-bed quarantine facility for U.S. citizens affected by the Ebola outbreak in DRC have provoked a public backlash in Kenya, although the country’s president, William Ruto, said the plan was safe.
Kenya’s high court temporarily blocked the quarantine facility last week, citing public health concerns. Some U.S. health experts have also criticized the plans, after the Trump administration said it was determined to ensure the virus did not cross U.S. borders.
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