Nations around the world are imposing strict entry restrictions on people who have recently been to the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to a deadly Ebola outbreak in the northeast of the country.
But in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, most of the 20 million residents are carrying on as usual.
Open-air markets where vendors sell cassava, fish, fruits and clothing remained full. Workers piled into taxis or hopped on their motorcycles for their morning commutes along the heavily congested roads. The patios and bars were full of customers drinking beer and eating roast chicken with mayonnaise.
“I don't know or see why we should be afraid,” said Malula Richard Esambo, president of a football fans group in Kinshasa, at an event in the city organized this week by the Congolese Football Association. “Kinshasa is safe for now.”
With an area of more than 900,000 square miles, the Congo is almost six times the size of California. The distance between the center of the Ebola outbreak, Ituri province in the northeast, and Kinshasa is about 950 miles, roughly the distance between Orlando and New York.
And there is not much travel between Kinshasa and Ituri because of poor roads, reducing the likelihood of the outbreak spreading to the capital, said Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Epidemic Response and Innovation Center at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.
For this reason, Dr. de Oliveira said, the United States would be better off supporting affected countries to stop the outbreak at its source, rather than “establishing a travel ban or isolating all patients who come from such a large country.”
“I don't think it's a good public health response,” he added.
Still, some public health experts warn that because the virus has spread unchecked for weeks, far-flung places may not yet be safe. There is no vaccine for this species of the virus, called Bundibugyo, and health officials are still struggling to establish clinics in Bunia, the capital of Ituri.
On Friday, the governor of Ituri banned gatherings of more than 50 people and suspended a soccer match in Bunia. And on Saturday, Congo's government announced it would ban all air travel in and out of Bunia, and that aid flights would require special authorization.
So far, there have been 177 suspected deaths and around 750 suspected cases of the virus, which has spread to Uganda and South Sudan. If it were to reach a megacity like Kinshasa, which has a population of around 20 million people, it could present significant challenges because its dense urban environment and large population offer conditions conducive to rapid spread.
What reassures many Congolese is the fact that they have been here before.
This is the 17th Ebola outbreak to hit the country since the virus was discovered five decades ago. Despite all the challenges Congo may have, its health authorities have a lot of experience responding to Ebola.
“People here think this doesn't concern Kinshasa,” said Christine Nlandu, 37, a vendor at a suburban market. “They think it's a distant story.”
Petronella Mugoni, a social and behavioral epidemiologist who has worked in Congo, said she feared that some in Kinshasa had become complacent about Ebola because the city had not been hit hard by previous outbreaks.
It is critical that the government step up its Ebola-specific public health information, he said. But that can be difficult in a city where there are so many diseases that kill more people annually than Ebola, and residents face health information overload, he said.
It may also be difficult for many people in Kinshasa to focus on Ebola prevention when they have to rely on informal work to feed their families, Dr. Mugoni said.
“Even amid challenges, making money takes priority,” he said. “Closing markets would be more catastrophic than Ebola for many.”
But residents of Goma, another major city, are not taking the Ebola outbreak lightly. Goma is the largest city in the eastern part of the country and there is a lot of travel between Goma and Ituri. Furthermore, Goma is currently under the control of M23, a rebel group.
“I am overwhelmed by the news,” said Joëlle Koko Zihindula, 28, a youth worker in Goma. “It's depressing how the situation is mixed with conflicts.”
The Congolese government has published a message on social media highlighting “the importance of complying with preventive measures in response to the Ebola outbreak declared in Ituri.”
But there have been no public awareness campaigns directed at Kinshasa. There are no prohibitions on large gatherings. Schools remain open.
The government has asked educators to remain vigilant and carry out awareness campaigns for their students, said Sister Elysee Ntoto Mazoba, principal of the Madame Lecandele school in northwest Kinshasa.
A student of Madame Lecandele, Christopher Ciribagula, 9, has taken the awareness campaign very seriously. He said he and other students were told to avoid touching dead animals, to tell their parents immediately if they had a fever and not to approach anyone with a bloody nose. “That means they have Ebola,” he said.
They have also been encouraged to wash their hands frequently, Christopher said. He's not excited about an upcoming family trip because he doesn't want to come into contact with someone who might be sick, he said. “I'm very afraid of this disease,” he said. “If this disease one day reaches Kinshasa, where we live, it could be dangerous for the entire city.”
Not all concerns surrounding Ebola are about life and death.
Some soccer fans fear they will be denied entry to the United States to support their team in the World Cup. Congo is scheduled to play its first match on June 17 in Houston. Esambo, the president of the fan group, has tried to allay those fears, saying the visa process was already underway and that he was confident that American authorities would allow them to enter the United States.
“America is a great country,” he said. “Making such unfounded decisions would not be a good move.”
Arlette Bashizi contributed reporting from Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lynsey Chutel from London and Zimasa Matiwane from Johannesburg.
