{"id":2000112329,"date":"2026-05-17T08:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000112329"},"modified":"2026-05-18T09:50:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:50:39","slug":"rwanda-closes-rubavu-border-crossings-amid-ebola-outbreak-in-drc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-closes-rubavu-border-crossings-amid-ebola-outbreak-in-drc\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda closes Rubavu border crossings amid Ebola outbreak in DRC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The closure, which took effect on Sunday morning, May 17, affects the busy Petite Barri\u00e8re, Grande Barri\u00e8re, and Kabuhanga border posts, key transit points between Gisenyi and Goma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rubavu District Mayor Prosper Mulindwa confirmed the decision to IGIHE, saying the borders were closed as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Ebola into Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBorders connecting Goma and Gisenyi have been temporarily closed while monitoring the Ebola outbreak. We will continue engaging with citizens to explain the reasons behind this decision,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also urged residents to remain calm and patient, stressing that protecting lives remains the priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health authorities are continuing screening operations for Rwandan nationals entering from the DRC, as well as Congolese citizens returning home, who are still being allowed to cross under monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, border crossings linking Rusizi District and Bukavu remain open and unaffected by the restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest measures come after health officials confirmed a new Ebola case in Ituri Province in eastern DRC earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reported that the outbreak had reached 336 confirmed cases and 87 deaths, indicating continued regional spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A small cross-border trader, Uwizeyimana Afissa, said she only learned about the closure when she arrived at the border for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe woke up and came to work transporting goods, but when we arrived, we found the border closed due to the Ebola outbreak in the neighbouring country,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She called on authorities to introduce measures that would allow trade to continue safely, such as organising traders into groups and permitting limited crossings, to prevent goods from going to waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uganda has also reported Ebola cases linked to travel from the DRC, heightening regional concern over cross-border transmission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the same day, Uganda confirmed its first Ebola case, with the patient later dying in hospital in Kampala, bringing the country\u2019s death toll to 88. A second case has since been confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a \u201cpublic health emergency of international concern,\u201d calling for a coordinated global response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WHO, however, clarified that the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, does not currently meet the threshold for classification as a pandemic emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The closure, which took effect on Sunday morning, May 17, affects the Petite Barri\u00e8re, Grande Barri\u00e8re, and Kabuhanga border posts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Movement was subsequently suspended for residents intending to cross into Goma.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Cross-border traders have been urged to exercise caution due to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda has closed several border crossings with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Rubavu District following the resurgence of Ebola cases in the neighbouring country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000112330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000112329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000112330,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pxl_20260517_061815805.jpg-29c38.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":600,"height":338,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pxl_20260517_061815805.jpg-29c38.jpg","width":150,"height":85},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pxl_20260517_061815805.jpg-29c38.jpg","width":300,"height":169},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pxl_20260517_061815805.jpg-29c38.jpg","width":600,"height":338},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pxl_20260517_061815805.jpg-29c38.jpg","width":600,"height":338},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pxl_20260517_061815805.jpg-29c38.jpg","width":600,"height":338}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000112329"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000112370,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112329\/revisions\/2000112370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000112330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000112329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000112329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000112329"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000112329"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000112329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}