Without full access to Ebola-affected areas, 'we cede ground to the virus,' says World Health Organization head.

Axar.az reports citing Reuters that Ebola responders are on lockdown in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following deadly protests, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

“Ebola responders in Beni, DRC is on lockdown amidst gunfire, riots and civil strife,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitter.

More than 3,100 Ebola cases have been confirmed since the outbreak was declared in August 2018, and more than 2,100 deaths recorded.

But insecurity in the region has hampered efforts to contain the outbreak.

“Each day that we don’t have full access to all Ebola-affected areas in DRC we cede ground to the virus, prolonging the outbreak. This is a tragedy because it will only add to the suffering of already overburdened communities,” said Tedros.

Angry residents in the DRC stormed UN facilities Monday to protest a recent attack by a Ugandan rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), in which eight people were killed and nine kidnapped in the Masiani district of the eastern North Kivu province’s Beni area.

Protesters looted a UN base in the northeastern border city.