In Guinea, where the great epidemic began in 2014, the Ministry of Health has already announced seven cases on the weekend of 13-14 February. The virus has spread following the funeral of a nurse, who has caused at least three deaths. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said at a press conference in Geneva that the 115 people who had contact with these cases have been identified and that the experience gained in previous hearings has made it possible to mobilize health workers quickly to investigate the virus and prevent new infections.

In North Kivu, east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, more than 4,000 km from Guinea, four cases have been confirmed and two deaths have been reported. About 300 contacts have been recorded in four areas and about 3,000 contacts have been recorded. Vaccination has started for health workers. WHO has reported that the country reported on 7 February of the re-outbreak of the Ebola virus, a week before the Guinea outbreak.

Harris has stated that there is no link between the outbreaks in both countries, at least there is no evidence, but that they are occurring at the same time.

WHO experts have advised six countries to monitor possible cases of Ebola that may occur following outbreaks in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The WHO spokesman recalled that COVID-19 is not the only threat to health in Africa: “While much of our focus is on the pandemic, WHO continues to respond to other emergencies.”