Follow-Up: DR Congo Ebola Cases Reach 10,274 With 4,992 Deaths as Chinese Citizens Are Told to Leave Four High-Risk Provinces

The Democratic Republic of the Congo issued its latest security situation bulletin on October 30: as of October 28, eight provinces — Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele, Tshopo, Sud-Ubangi and Nord-Ubangi — had reported a cumulative 10,274 confirmed Ebola cases and 4,992 deaths. The bulletin states that Chinese citizens must not travel to Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu or Haut-Uele provinces, and that Chinese citizens and enterprises still in those areas should evacuate or relocate to safe areas as soon as possible.

Recent major incidents listed in the bulletin include two armed attacks: on October 21, an armed ambush near Bitale in the Kalehe area of South Kivu killed a radio journalist, left two other people dead and two seriously injured; on October 24, armed robbers attacked civilians in Ikobo village in the Walikale area of North Kivu. The bulletin notes that illegal armed groups including M23, the ADF, CODECO, CRP, Mai-Mai militias and the Zaire militia remain active across North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Haut-Uele, that violent clashes, armed robberies and kidnappings occur frequently, and that Chinese citizens in the country continue to face high security risks.

The bulletin also advises against all non-essential travel to nine further provinces — Lualaba, Haut-Katanga, Bas-Uele, Tanganyika, Maniema, Kasai-Central, Sankuru, Lomami and Haut-Lomami — and requires enterprises and individuals engaged in gold mining in the country to register their information promptly, warning that anyone who refuses to register or insists on travelling to or remaining in the high-risk areas will bear the consequences personally.

On disease prevention, the bulletin urges Chinese citizens in the country to follow the outbreak closely, strengthen personal hygiene protection, stay away from Ituri and other epidemic areas and surrounding high-risk zones, reduce non-essential travel and cross-regional movement, avoid crowded places, avoid contact with wild animals and with confirmed or suspected patients, and seek care at a regular hospital promptly if unwell. Chinese-funded enterprises are told to improve their epidemic prevention plans, strengthen health monitoring of staff and stockpile emergency supplies; institutions in areas where security has clearly deteriorated must raise security spending to the highest standard, cut non-essential staffing and prepare emergency plans.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, has continued to spread since it began in May. When GSM reported on October 28, DR Congo's cumulative count stood at 10,060 cases and 4,887 deaths; the latest figures add 214 cases and 105 deaths in three days, a case fatality rate of about 48.6 percent. The World Health Organization has called this the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, and no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists for this strain; Kenya and Nigeria have recently reported imported cases, raising the risk of cross-border spread.

Related: Follow-Up: DR Congo Ebola Cases Pass 10,060 With 4,887 Deaths, the Country's Deadliest Outbreak on Record

Related: 28.8 Million People in DR Congo Face Severe Food Insecurity: IPC Alert Puts 10.4 Million in Three Eastern Provinces at Crisis Level or Above, Rising Toward 30.3 Million by Mid-2027

Related: China's Foreign Ministry Vows Ebola Aid to DR Congo Three Times: Medical Teams Reach Kinshasa as Embassy Orders Gold Miners to Register and Eastern Citizens to Leave

Source of this report: the Security Situation Notice for DR Congo (October 30, 2026) issued by the Chinese Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ebola case and death figures cross-checked against public bulletins of the U.S. CDC and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Source: GSM · USA

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：埃博拉治疗单元内的医护人员（资料图）。照片：CDC，CC BY 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / A health worker inside an Ebola treatment unit (file photo). Photo: CDC, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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