Rwanda shuts border with Democratic Republic of Congo after Ebola outbreak

A Rwandan official has said his country has closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo because of the deadly Ebola outbreak.

The closure comes after a man died of the viral fever in the DRC’s major city of Goma, which is on the Rwandan border.

The death increased fears the virus could take root in the densely populated city of 2 million.

Doctor Aruna Abedi, the Ebola coordinator for North Kivu province, said a person who had made contact with the man is receiving treatment after showing signs of the illness.

Congo’s health ministry said the person who came into contact with the victim is his one-year-old daughter. The father died on Wednesday and had spent several days at home with his large family while showing symptoms.

The ministry later confirmed the one-year-old has the disease, making it the first transmission of Ebola in this outbreak inside Goma.

“We’re seeing the first active transmission chain in Goma and expect more to come,” the International Rescue Committee’s Ebola response director, Andre Heller, warned in a statement.

“On a unilateral decision by the Rwandan authorities, Rwandan citizens cannot leave for Goma,” the Congolese presidency said. “The Congolese authorities deplore this decision, which runs counter to the advice of the WHO (World Health Organisation).”

The WHO, which last month declared this year-long Ebola outbreak a global health emergency, has advised against travel restrictions.

However, the organisation said the risk of regional spread is “very high”.

The outbreak in North Kivu province, which the DRC confirmed almost a year ago, has killed more than 1,800 people so far, making it the second-deadliest Ebola emergency in history.

“By closing the border like this, they deprive a lot of people of their earnings today. Most of the women here cross into Rwanda to find food for us in Goma,” Lucien Kalusha, a Congolese hairdresser who crosses every day to work in Rwanda, said.