This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
Published on August 1, 2019, Rwandan authorities have closed the border between Goma and its nearest town of Gisenyi to all people except Congolese citizens leaving Rwanda, citing Ebola fears.
The move comes after a second case of Ebola fever was confirmed in Goma, a city of over 2 million people, more than 350 km south of where the outbreak was first detected.
According to Jean-Jacques Muyembe, who leads the Democratic Republic of Congo's response to the epidemic, the second patient died overnight in Goma's Ebola treatment centre after spending several days sick at home.
"The Goma case died because he went to hospital very late," Muyembe said in a statement. "The patient was in a terminal state when he was diagnosed as he was already exhibiting symptoms of bleeding."
Responders are keen to establish where the second patient was exposed to the virus and when exactly he fell ill, WHO emergencies chief Mike Ryan told reporters.
The two Goma cases are not linked, according to health officials.
