Congo Schools Reopen Amid Deadliest Ebola Outbreak Ever

Children across the Democratic Republic of the Congo are back at their desks on Tuesday while authorities fight the nation's deadliest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. Parents in Ituri province worry that classrooms could become breeding grounds for the virus. Officials have moved high-risk students to home learning instead.

Government data released as of August 31 shows a grim tally: 6,041 confirmed cases and 2,911 deaths. These numbers eclipse the previous worst outbreak which ran from 2018 through 2020. Six provinces are now battling the epidemic. Ituri in the northeast remains the epicenter with 4,802 confirmed cases recorded as of August 26.

Fear is palpable in Bunia, the capital of Ituri. Parents question whether reopening schools makes sense while infections spread unchecked. Dieudonne Lotsima, a father of three living in Bunia, voiced his anxiety directly. "As a parent, I am concerned about the announcement that schools are reopening, especially as we are facing the Ebola outbreak in our region," he said. He demanded answers from the government regarding protective measures for children.

Lotsima wants classes postponed until a specific vaccine becomes available. "Children are children," he told Al Jazeera. "They may not wash their hands at the washbasins, and if they become infected, they risk infecting the whole family." The uncertainty hangs heavy over families who do not know what steps to take without protection.

The current outbreak stems from the Bundibugyo virus, a distinct strain different from Zaire ebolavirus. Most past outbreaks in the Congo involved Zaire. No approved vaccine or treatment exists specifically for Bundibugyo yet. Ervebo, the vaccine cleared against Zaire, is reaching front-line health workers. Its effectiveness against Bundibugyo remains unproven. The World Health Organization supports a clinical trial to test if it can guard against this specific strain.

The government avoided a nationwide shutdown by tailoring responses to local risk levels. High-risk zones will see pupils study from home using printed materials and radio broadcasts, according to the Ministry of Education. Workbooks covering essential curriculum parts get distributed locally. Community radio stations air programs to match these lessons. Families without radios may receive one.

Raissa Malu, the minister of education, spoke on August 18 about the scope of the crisis. Forty of the country's 138 educational subdivisions in affected provinces face disruption. Eighteen were classified as high risk. She explained the new system involves worksheets produced to match the curriculum. These focus on essential knowledge and allow children to keep working from home. Malu clarified that this arrangement is not online or internet-based teaching.

She divided areas into three color-coded categories. Green zones show no reported transmission. Orange areas are affected but can proceed with extra precautions. Red zones carry the highest risk. Catherine Neema, a mother of two in Bunia, remains unconvinced by these plans. "I'm not sure I'll send my child to school," she said. "When the children start school, there will be too many people.

People may come into close contact with one another and become infected," she said. Neema noted her oldest child started the holidays while confirmed Ebola cases hovered around 1,500, claiming a toll of 470 lives. Why are teachers still worried? The Ituri 1 Teachers' Inter-Union Committee argues the epidemiological situation does not support a safe return to school. Budju Lobo Isaac, a trade union member, insists schools needed basic health measures before children and teachers came back. "We cannot sacrifice the lives of children and teachers just to stick to a timetable," he told Al Jazeera. "Before reopening schools, we must ensure minimum health and safety standards are in place: handwashing facilities, hand sanitiser, thermal scanners, and monitoring and support for teachers." Education officials have also been training staff in Ituri to spot risky behavior, push preventive measures, and teach pupils about Ebola. "We have trained inspectors, senior officials from the provincial directorate, and other members of teachers' unions," said Jean-Baptiste Ngona Kivi, acting head of the General Education Service in the Ituri 1 educational province. "They will be deployed to the sub-districts to pass on this training on Ebola protection techniques to headteachers and teachers." Can schools also help fight Ebola? Professor Yap Boum, incident manager at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention for the response to the Bundibugyo outbreak, sees the return to school as a chance to reach families with information about Ebola. "Once they have been made aware of the Ebola virus disease, when they return home, they also help to raise awareness amongst adults," he told Al Jazeera. "So this is another opportunity we see in children returning to school.