DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Death Toll Rises to 377 as Cases Surpass 1,300

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1227 EAT on Tuesday 30 June 2026

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported 1,307 confirmed Ebola cases, including 377 deaths, as the outbreak continues to affect parts of the country.

In an update issued late on Monday, the health authorities said the confirmed cases have been recorded in three provinces: Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

The government continues to monitor the situation and implement response measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus.

The announcement comes as the AFP news agency reported that an Ebola case has been detected in a fourth province. A source at the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB), quoted by AFP, said the viral haemorrhagic fever has spread to Haut-Uele province, which borders South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

The source said the case was identified after an infected person travelled from Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, to Haut-Uele. The individual later died, according to another health official cited by AFP.

Health authorities are now working to trace the chain of transmission and identify people who may have come into contact with the infected person.

The spread of Ebola to Haut-Uele means the entire northeastern region of the DRC, home to about 15 million people, is now affected.
Ituri province, which has been impacted by years of conflict, remains the epicentre of the country’s latest Ebola outbreak — the 17th recorded in the DRC — which began in May.

Health officials say many infections have been linked to funeral practices, where the bodies of Ebola victims, which remain highly infectious after death, are handled by relatives and community members.

For weeks, aid workers have faced challenges in organising safe burials due to mistrust among some communities in affected areas. In the DRC, funerals often last several days, with family members and friends traditionally taking part in rituals that may involve touching the body of the deceased.

Reporting from an Ebola treatment centre in Rwampara, Ituri province, Al Jazeera’s Catherine Wambua-Soi said health workers continue to face shortages of essential equipment as they respond to the outbreak.

Ebola treatment centres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have faced repeated attacks, further complicating efforts to contain the outbreak.

“Last month, tents here were set on fire by an angry mob. Some Congolese still distrust those trying to help,” Al Jazeera reporter Catherine Wambua-Soi said while reporting from a treatment centre in Rwampara, Ituri province.

She added that health facilities urgently need more resources, including protective equipment, medicines, rapid testing kits and body bags, to support the response.

Meanwhile, the Congolese government has imposed a ban on public gatherings in four provinces, including the capital, Kinshasa, as authorities continue efforts to control the spread of Ebola.

The directive was issued ahead of a planned opposition protest in Kinshasa on July 8 against proposed constitutional reforms. Opposition leaders have criticised the ban, describing it as politically motivated.

-Aljazeera

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