Utilizing the experience of containment of the ebola outbreak in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: Democratic Republic of Congo

Shrivastava, S. R.; Shrivastava, P. S.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to increase in number and geographic distribution with each day. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reported 161 cases, which amounts to 2.4% of the caseload in the African region, but it is the second leading nation in terms of reported deaths. From the public health perspective, the cause of concern is that local transmission has been reported and the fact that the nation has not yet completely recovered from the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease. The nation has already started its preparedness activities, and they are utilizing the setup, the facilities, and the experience gained by the health personnel for the effective containment of the outbreak of Ebola. In conclusion, the DRC has initiated its outbreak readiness and even implemented the response action plan in the nation against the COVID-19. Although the availability of resources in the nation is a challenging ask, the health personnel have utilized their experiencing of managing the Ebola outbreak and given a positive head start toward the containment of the infection within their settings. © 2021 Medical Journal of Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth.