WHO chief says Ebola outbreak in Congo is 'spreading rapidly' and upgrades risk assessment

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said Friday that the Ebola outbreak in Congo is “spreading rapidly” and now poses a “very high” risk at the national level.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency was revising upward to “very high” its assessment of the risk within Congo, which had previously been deemed as high. The risk remains high for regional spread and low at global levels, he told reporters.

The WHO chief noted that 82 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with seven confirmed deaths, “but we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger.”

He said there are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The situation in neighboring Uganda is “stable” with two cases confirmed in people who had traveled from Congo, with one death.

Earlier on Friday, the United Nations said it released $60 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to accelerate the response in Congo and in the region. The U.S. has pledged $23 million in funding to bolster the response in Congo and Uganda, and said it would also fund the establishment of up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics in the affected regions of Congo and Uganda.

Ugandan authorities said they were not aware of any treatment centers being set up by the U.S.

Charred hospital beds stand in smoldering Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026, after it was set fire by people angry at being stopped from retrieving a body, according to a witness and police. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

Flames and smoke rise from an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

Medical staff carry an Ebola patient to a treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A person is wearing a protective face mask in front of the WHO logo, during the media regarding the epidemic of Ebola disease, during a press conference at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A renowned Mount Everest guide who this week scaled the peak a record 32nd time urged authorities on Friday to limit climbers on the summit.

The number of climbers making the ascent on the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak from the Nepalese side is higher this season because China has closed the route from Tibet. Everest can be scaled from either the southern side in Nepal or the northern side in China.

On Wednesday, 274 climbers reached the summit, the highest number on a single day from the Nepal side. A total of 494 climbers have been issued permits by Nepal’s mountaineering authorities and an equal number Sherpa guides are accompanying them.

“It was very crowded this year compared to last year,” Kami Rita Sherpa told reporters at Kathmandu airport after flying back from the mountain. “There is a need for authorities to control this number.”

Climbers only get a few windows of good weather to make their attempt on the summit. A large number of people waiting in a fixed rope line they are all clipped into increases the risks of a traffic jam and exposes the climbers to increased hours of harsh weather.

Kami Rita's closest competitor, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, scaled the peak for the 31st time on Friday, which was his second successful ascent this week.

Kami Rita, 56, first climbed Everest in 1994, and has been making the trip nearly every year since. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of foreign climbers aspiring to stand on top of the mountain each year.

His father was among the first Sherpa guides. In addition to Everest, Kami Rita has climbed other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

Renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita returning from Mount Everest after his record 32nd successful ascent, arrives at an airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita, second right, returns from Mount Everest after his record 32nd successful ascent at an airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Son of renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita arrives to welcome his father returning from Mount Everest after his record 32nd successful ascent at an airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita returning from Mount Everest after his record 32nd successful ascent, is welcomed as he arrives at an airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita, center right, returning from Mount Everest after his record 32nd successful ascent is presented with shawls and flowers as he arrives at an airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)