Rwandan health minister, Diane Gashumba has debunked allegation about the closure of border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over fears of Ebola outbreak.
Gashumba disclosed to Xinhua in a telephone interview, “Rwanda has not closed its border with the DRC. What you are reading in media is not true, but people simply misunderstood the situation at the border this morning”.
”People were delayed at the border in the morning as they were sensitised on signs and dangers of Ebola virus and measures to prevent themselves from being infected, ”she explained.
Olivier Nduhungirehe, minister of state in charge of the East African Community in the foreign ministry of Rwanda, on a twitter post also dismissed reports saying Rwanda closes its border with the DRC over fears of Ebola spreading.
“The border was not closed. This was a misunderstanding,” the official stated.
Meanwhile, reports had it that the presidency’s office of DRC announced earlier on Thursday that Rwanda has closed its border with the DRC after a man died of Ebola in the eastern DRC city of Goma, which borders Rwanda to the east.
The man, in his 40s, has tested positive for the deadly virus and died on Wednesday in the populated city of Goma. He was the second confirmed Ebola case in the city.
The World Health Organization had earlier commended Rwanda on its ongoing Ebola preparedness efforts and confirmed that no cases of Ebola have been reported from the central African country.
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