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A Catholic diocese in Congo has stepped up measures to protect its congregations against Ebola, after the last outbreak was declared an international emergency by the World Health Organization.
"The diocese of Goma adheres to the general concern about preventive precautions," said Mgr. Jacques Letakamba, diocesan chancellor.
"The washing will now be mandatory for all worshipers before Mbad and basins must be prepared for this purpose with chlorinated water. The call to Christ's peace by the priest during Mbad will not be accompanied by outstretched hands, "the statement said.
The measures were implemented when Rwanda closed its border with Congo on August 1 after confirmation of a second Ebola death in Goma, a city of 2 million residents.
The latest Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 1,800 deaths in the Congo, the 10th since 1976, with a dozen new cases reported every day, mostly in North Kivu province, according to WHO.
The Associated Press reported that the latest victim, a minor in his forties, had presented with symptoms of the disease after returning to Goma and died on July 31 at an Ebola treatment center.
Church officials in this very Catholic country have called for an international strategy to contain Ebola, as the country faces political instability and multiple armed conflicts.
Father Pierre Cibambo Ntakobajira, liaison officer for Africa with Caritas Internationalis, told the Catholic News Service in mid-July that UN officials had asked the Catholic Church to to sensitize the parishioners to the prevention of the spread of the disease.
"The church has a special responsibility and an opportunity to help communicate the dangers, given the trust that local communities place in it," he said.
The security measures announced by the Diocese of Goma follow the suspension of the sacraments and Catholic rituals resulting in physical contact by the church of the Province of Ecuador as a result of. an Ebola outbreak in 2018.
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