To officially declare the outbreak over, the country had to report no new infections for 42 days after the last confirmed case tested negative. In total, Congo has reported 3,463 Ebola cases and 2,280 deaths since the outbreak started in August 2018.
The outbreak often proved difficult to contain due to mistrust from local community members and violence against healthcare workers.
“At times it seemed like a mission impossible,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, told The New York Times. “Ending this Ebola outbreak is a sign of hope for the region and the world, that with solidarity and science and courage and commitment, even the most challenging epidemics can be controlled.”
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