JAKARTA - Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised Singaporeans on May 25 to defer all non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo after an Ebola disease outbreak in DRC and Uganda was classified by the World Health Organization as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The MFA travel page said Singaporeans in DRC should exercise extreme caution, avoid areas with known transmission, monitor updates from WHO and Africa CDC, and register their presence through the ministry’s eRegister system. The ministry said Singapore has no mission in DRC, limiting its ability to provide consular assistance there. The advisory affects Singaporeans planning travel to DRC and those already in the country.
The advisory follows WHO’s May 17 determination that Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus in DRC and Uganda constituted a PHEIC under the International Health Regulations. WHO said the event did not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, but issued temporary recommendations covering surveillance, border health, international travel, case isolation and contact tracing.
“Singaporeans are advised to defer all non-essential travel to the DRC,” the MFA said in the advisory. The ministry also directed travellers to Singapore’s Communicable Diseases Agency for information on Ebola disease and precautionary measures.
WHO said in a May 21 Disease Outbreak News update that DRC had reported 746 suspected cases and 176 deaths among suspected cases as of May 21. Across DRC and Uganda, WHO recorded 85 confirmed cases, including two in Uganda, and ten deaths among confirmed cases. Transmission in DRC was concentrated in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
WHO said DRC’s affected areas include high-mobility locations. Ituri province borders Uganda and South Sudan, and Bunia health zone is less than 40 kilometres from Uganda. WHO said Ituri’s role as a commercial and migratory hub increases the risk of regional exportation and cross-border transmission.
The WHO recommendations do not call for flight suspensions or denial of entry to travellers from countries with documented Bundibugyo virus detection. They instead call for accurate travel information, point-of-entry health contingency plans and measures to inform incoming travellers about what to do if they develop symptoms within 21 days after arrival.
