Bunia: Chaos erupted at a hospital near Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicenter of a new wave of the Ebola outbreak. Relatives and friends of one of the victims, believed to have died from Ebola, were angered that officials prevented them from taking the body for funeral rites. They threw objects at the hospital and set fire to two tents used for quarantine, completely destroying them. They also cremated the body of another victim awaiting burial that day. Relief workers fled the area in their vehicles, and one medical staff member was injured by rocks. The army and police were deployed to control the situation, firing warning shots and using tear gas to disperse the crowd.

According to Thai News Agency, during the incident, six patients were being treated in a tent and were safely rescued and moved to the main hospital building. However, officials and community leaders are still urgently tracking down some patients and close contacts who may have panicked and fled during the chaos.

The unrest stemmed from the victim's family and protesters' disbelief that the patient died from the Ebola virus. The victim's mother firmly believed her son died from typhoid fever, while community leaders stated that some people lacked understanding of the disease and viewed Ebola as a fabrication by foreign organizations for profit.

This Ebola outbreak is the third largest in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo. To date, over 670 suspected cases have been reported, with 160 deaths. The true numbers are likely much higher as the virus spread silently for months before being detected. This crisis is highly challenging because it is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no officially approved vaccine or cure. It is estimated that developing and distributing a vaccine will take at least 6-9 months. To date, the virus has spread from its epicenter in Ituri and North Kivu provinces south to South Kivu province, controlled by the M23 rebel group, and has even crossed borders into neighboring Uganda.

Meanwhile, many countries began to step up their controls. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security ordered travel restrictions and mandated strict screening at airports for travelers arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. Uganda also canceled flights to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo. International summits, such as the India-Africa summit, were temporarily postponed.