DR Congo Ebola outbreak: Nurses discharged after full recovery
Four nurses who fell ill with Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the often-fatal illness that sparked an international health alert.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in an update on Sunday that more recoveries “are expected, especially when people are diagnosed early and able to access care”, and as the response intensifies.
In total, five people have now recovered from the virus, the agency said, citing the case of a laboratory worker who was given the all-clear last Thursday.
The announcement is welcome news, particularly because there is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Ebola caused by Bundibugyo virus.
As of Sunday, there were 210 confirmed cases of infection reported in DR Congo, with 17 confirmed deaths. Nearly 350 suspected cases are under investigation.
A total of 16 health workers have contracted Ebola during this latest DRC outbreak.
Gaza: Families live near Yellow Line ‘in constant fear’ of death
To Gaza, where families living on or near the so-called Yellow Line controlled by the Israeli military have shared their constant fear of being killed or injured.
It comes as the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, reported a surge in military activity in recent weeks across the Strip, that’s caused increasing casualties and displacement.
Here’s Gaza City resident Ahmed Talal, who lives in the al-Shaaf area of al-Zeitoun neighbourhood, about 100 metres from the Yellow Line.
“By God, we are very afraid and we keep sheltering inside the house. We are afraid to leave the house. There is heavy gunfire and the tanks are firing. They reach here near the al-Fadila area on Kashko Street. We have heavy gunfire from the tanks, and the bullets hit the upper part of our house.”
Ahmed Talal’s family is just one of thousands whose destroyed homes intersect shifting military lines in Gaza.
He told UN News that his family has been displaced from their neighbourhood 12 times – and that the last time they were uprooted, they were homeless for more than six months.
Lebanon families flee Beirut amid Israeli threat of renewed strikes
Video footage from southern Beirut on Monday showed nose-to-bumper traffic heading out of the city, after Israel announced that it intended to renew strikes on Hezbollah fighters embedded there.
The development comes ahead of an expected Security Council meeting on the crisis, called by France, after Israeli troops captured the strategically important fortress, Beaufort Castle, following further fighting and airstrikes.
It also follows the reported killing of an Israeli soldier during continuing clashes in southern Lebanon over the weekend.
Well over one million people have been uprooted in Lebanon by the hostilities, which began shortly after Israel and the US started bombing Iran in late February, prompting Hezbollah fighters to fire on Israel.
On Friday, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said that 77 children had been reportedly killed or injured in just one week in Lebanon.
The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, on Monday condemned the ongoing violence.
She said that southern Lebanon was “in flames” while Beirut’s roads were “choked with people fleeing their homes”.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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