COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 10 March 2020. The first few confirmed cases were all outside arrivals.[3]

COVID-19 pandemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Number of cases by Province.
  ≥ 10 000
  1 000 - 9 999
  500 - 999
  100 - 499
  10 - 99
  1 - 9
  0
DiseaseCOVID-19
Virus strainSARS-CoV-2
LocationDR Congo
First outbreakWuhan, Hubei, China
Index caseKinshasa
Arrival date10 March 2020
(10 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Confirmed cases22,322 (as of 29 January 2021)[1] [2]
Active cases6,660 (as of 29 January 2021)
Recovered14,997 (as of 29 January 2021)
Deaths
665 (as of 29 January 2021)
Government website
www.stopcoronavirusrdc.info
The MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade has taken measures to boost hygiene to help slow the spread of the virus.

Background

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world, and access to health care is limited. The DRC has been battling the Kivu Ebola epidemic since 2018, and this epidemic was still ongoing when the COVID-19 crisis began.[4]

On 10 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[5][6]

Timeline

March 2020

On 10 March, the first case was reported in the country.[7] The case was initially reported to be a Belgian national who visited the country and was later quarantined in a hospital in Kinshasa. The Health Minister of the DRC, Eteni Longondo, said that the situation is "under control" and that "there is no need to panic".[8][9] The nationality and travel history of the first case turned out to be incorrect. The case was actually a Congolese citizen who had returned from France and contacted health services. The failure to report accurate details on the first case sparked a rebuke from President Félix Tshisekedi who stated in a cabinet meeting that the health ministry had acted in an "appalling and mediocre" way.[10]

The second case was confirmed to be a Cameroonian national in the country, who returned from France on 8 March. Initially asymptomatic, he later developed symptoms and received treatment in a hospital in Kinshasa.[11][12] After five more confirmed cases, the first death in the country was reported, following announcements that Angola will be closing the border with the DRC.[13]

During the month there were 109 confirmed cases, eight of whom died while four recovered in March.[14]

April 2020

There were 463 new cases in April, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 572. The death toll rose to 31. The number of recovered patients increased to 65, with 476 active cases at the end of the month.[15]

May 2020

In May there were 2476 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 3048. The death toll more than doubled to 71.[16]

June 2020

On 1 June, a new Ebola outbreak was declared in Mbandaka. In conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Kivu Ebola epidemic, and the world's largest measles outbreak, the situation has been described as a "perfect storm" by the Red Cross.[17]

On 16 June, a crowd ransacked a coronavirus treatment centre in South Kivu in response to the killing of a young man, rumoured to have been killed by police enforcing a virus curfew.[18]

On 29 June 2020, Albert M’peti Biyombo, DRC deputy health minister, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister accusing the cabinet members of colluding with networks within the health ministry to embezzle funds from the government and its aid partners.[19]

During June there were 3990 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 7038. The death toll rose to 169.[20] Model-based simulations indicate that the 95% confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number R t was lower than 1.0 in June.[21]

July 2020

There were 2031 new cases in July, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 9069. The death toll rose to 214. The number of recovered patients reached 6796, leaving 2059 active cases at the end of the month.[22]

August 2020

There were 1028 new cases in August, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 10097. The death toll rose to 260. There were 706 active cases at the end of the month.[23]

September 2020

There were 534 new cases in September, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 10631. The death toll rose to 272. The number of recovered patients increased to 10129, leaving 230 active cases at the end of the month.[24]

October 2020

There were 764 new cases in October, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 11395. The death toll rose to 308. The number of recovered patients increased to 10790, leaving 297 active cases at the end of the month.[25]

November 2020

There were 1377 new cases in November, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 12772. The death toll rose to 333. The number of recovered patients increased to 11585, leaving 854 active cases at the end of the month.[26]

On 18 November, the government announced that it has managed to contain an outbreak of Ebola in Equateur Province after assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO). The response included over 40,000 Ebola vaccinations, which like several COVID-19 vaccine candidates need to be stored at super-cold temperatures. The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, states that the response has provided several lessons for the global fight against COVID and has built local capacity.[27]

December 2020

There were 4886 new cases in December, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 17658. The death toll rose to 591. The number of recovered patients increased to 14701, leaving 2366 active cases at the end of the month.[28]

January 2021

There were 5113 new cases in January, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 22771. The death toll rose to 671. The number of recovered patients increased to 15031, leaving 7069 active cases at the end of the month.

Prevention measures

Schools, bars, restaurants, and places of worship were closed. On 19 March, President Félix Tshisekedi announced flight suspensions.[29] On 24 March, he imposed a state of emergency and closed the borders.[30]

See also

References
  1. "DR Congo Coronavirus". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. "StopCoronavirus RDC". stopcoronavirusdc.info. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. "DRC health minister announces fourth case of coronavirus in". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  4. "Congo records five new Ebola cases, shelves declaration of end to epidemic". Reuters. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. Elsevier. "Novel Coronavirus Information Center". Elsevier Connect. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  6. Reynolds, Matt (4 March 2020). "What is coronavirus and how close is it to becoming a pandemic?". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  7. Health, P. M. N. (10 March 2020). "Democratic Republic of Congo confirms first coronavirus case | National Post". Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  8. "DR Congo confirms first coronavirus case". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  9. "Coronavirus yageze muri DR Congo". BBC News Gahuza (in Kinyarwanda). 10 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  10. "Congo health authorities stumble with first coronavirus case confusion". Reuters. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  11. "DR Congo confirms 2nd case of COVID-19". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. "DR Congo reports second case of coronavirus in Kinshasa". The New Times | Rwanda. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  13. "Coronavirus: la RDC passe à 23 cas dont un premier décès (Dr. Eteni Longondo)". Actualite.cd (in French). 21 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  14. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 72" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 April 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  15. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 102" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 May 2020. p. 5. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  16. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 133" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 June 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  17. "DRC facing 'race against the clock' to contain latest Ebola outbreak amid Covid-19 pandemic". The Independent. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  18. "DRC coronavirus centre attacked by mob angry at youth's death". Vanguard News. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  19. "Congo Virus Funds Embezzled by 'Mafia Network', Says Deputy Minister". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  20. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 163" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 July 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  21. Future scenarios of the healthcare burden of COVID-19 in low- or middle-income countries, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London.
  22. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 194" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 August 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  23. "Outbreak brief 33: COVID-19 pandemic – 1 September 2020". 1 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  24. "COVID-19 situation update for the WHO African region. External situation report 31" (PDF). World Health Organization. 30 September 2020. p. 4. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  25. "Outbreak brief 42: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 3 November 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  26. "Outbreak brief 46: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic". Africa CDC. 1 December 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  27. "Latest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is declared over, with lessons for COVID-19". UN News. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  28. "Covid-19 : 283 nouveaux contaminés, 43 guéris et 7 décès mercredi en RDC" (in French). Actualité CD. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  29. "Democratic Republic of Congo sees 1st coronavirus death". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  30. Bonnerot, Clément (25 March 2020). "DR Congo president imposes state of emergency to contain coronavirus outbreak". France 24. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
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