In a latest update, DR Congo has halted all training programs scheduled for the World Cup due to deadly Ebola spread.
The decision came as the World Health Organization WHO has called the “Ebola outbreak” a public health emergency of international concern.
Considering the uncertainty and intensity of the matter, the Democratic Republic of Congo, also called DR Congo, has cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the country to take precautionary measures.
World Cup training preparations have been moved to Belgium amid the upsurge, which is thought to have killed more than 130 people.
DR Congo is due to play friendly matches against Denmark, on 3 June in Belgium, and Chile, on 9 June in Spain, ahead of the World Cup finals.
They play their first match of the tournament in the US city of Houston on 17 June against Portugal.
“Originally scheduled to take place in the capital on May 26, the Leopards’ public training session will not be held after all. “
This decision follows reports of suspected Ebola cases in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.
There is also uncertainty over whether the team’s French coach, Sébastien Desabre, will go ahead with a press conference scheduled to take place in the capital city, the statement added.
All DR Congo’s players are based outside the central African country and will therefore not be affected by the restrictions now that the training camp has been cancelled.
Some team staff based in DR Congo left the country on Wednesday, Kalemo told the Associated Press, ahead of the 21-day deadline.
However, some fans and journalists, who applied for US visas via the Congolese ministry of sport, are concerned because the US embassy in DR Congo has paused its visa services in light of the Ebola outbreak.
