The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has resulted in 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases, and 61 of the cases have been confirmed, according to official data published on Thursday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on the same day that it had stepped up its response in the country's eastern regions.
Two cargo planes carrying about 14 tons of medical supplies and equipment have arrived to help address the shortage, and quarantine tents have been set up outside local hospitals to enhance capacity to receive and quarantine suspected cases.
Also on Thursday, the DRC's football association said that due to the outbreak, it has adjusted the national team's World Cup preparations, canceling the training camp originally scheduled to take place domestically and relocating part of the preparations to Belgium.
Earlier this week, the United States, one of this year's World Cup co-hosts, announced stricter entry restrictions, barring non-U.S. passport holders who have visited the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past 21 days.
The U.S. also noted that since the DRC national team is currently training in Europe, these measures will not affect the team's participation or preparations.
The DRC's neighboring country Uganda on Thursday announced a series of new measures to strengthen border control, including the suspension of all flights between the two countries, the suspension of cultural celebrations and market activities in border areas, the suspension of all public transportation services between the two countries, with the exception of freight and food transport, and the strict enforcement of Ebola prevention procedures for all border areas adjacent to the DRC.
Uganda has reported two confirmed cases, both imported from the DRC. A total of 127 close contacts of these cases have been placed under centralized quarantine at designated facilities; no locally transmitted cases have been detected in the country.
DRC reports 160 suspected Ebola-linked deaths
