Ebola-hit DR Congo suspends public gatherings ban for England game | World | News

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has made the controversial decision to suspend a ban on public gatherings to allow its people to watch the country’s World Cup match against England despite being in the grip of an Ebola outbreak. Interior minister Jacquemain Shabani announced an indefinite ban on rallies, marches and other mass gatherings in four provinces identified as high-risk areas for Ebola, as the country battles an outbreak of deadly hemorrhagic fever.

However, the DRC Government has announced that bars and restaurants showing the England match will remain open, as will the fan zone with large screens. The government said it would seek to remind people of the dangers of spreading the virus, including urging spectators to wash their hands, amid widespread joy at the team’s success. The country’s football team, nicknamed the Leopards, will advance to the first group stage for the first time in its history and will face England in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 1, at 17:00.

The team’s progress in the major tournament has already been marked by jubilation in the Central African country, home to nearly 116 million people, celebrating Sunday’s 3-1 win over Uzbekistan with huge crowds and fireworks.

International health authorities declared an outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain on May 15, and 377 deaths have since been recorded out of 1,307 confirmed cases.

Democratic Republic of Congo’s information minister, Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, said the order was still valid but said: Telegram Fans will still be able to cheer on the country’s biggest World Cup moment. But he conceded it would probably be impossible to prevent huge celebrations if the Leopards beat England.

“No one knows how people will react if we win. Even I would be celebrating in that case.”

Mass gatherings are banned in Ituri province, the epicenter of the epidemic, and in neighboring North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. The latest measures cover Kinshasa, which has a population of approximately 22 million, as well as Tshopo, Bas-Uele and Haut-Uele provinces.

Despite the Ebola risk, the country’s opposition claimed the ban was a politically motivated ploy to prevent a planned rally against proposed constitutional changes that could allow president Felix Tshisekedi to seek a third term in office.

In a separate announcement, the mayor of the rebel-held eastern city of Goma banned public gatherings and demonstrations, including celebrations linked to sporting events, just a day after crowds gathered to celebrate DRC’s qualification for the qualifying round.

The DRC’s World Cup campaign has so far been overshadowed by the Ebola outbreak, the country’s 17th outbreak since the virus was first discovered in 1976. The measures have severely disrupted the team’s preparations and disrupted many fans’ travel plans. The team was forced to cancel its planned stay at training camp in Kinshasa and use a base in Belgium instead. American officials then insisted that they remain in a 21-day quarantine period before setting foot on US soil.

Health officials have warned that it could take up to a year to eradicate the Ebola outbreak. The virus has already spread to Uganda and there is a strong possibility it will reach South Sudan as well. The lack of test kits to detect the Bundibugyo strain means the virus may have spread for weeks before the outbreak was finally detected.