The confusion surrounding its first coronavirus case was a misstep by a government that has worked hard to combat misinformation during the ongoing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo.
Concerns about Africa’s ability to cope with an outbreak which has spread across on the continent are magnified in a country like Democratic Republic of Congo, where a creaking health system, a deficit of trust in public institutions, decades of poor governance, corruption and conflict can offer fertile ground for rumour and speculation.
A health ministry spokeswoman initially told reporters on Tuesday that the patient was Belgian, had been detected at the airport and was in quarantine in Kinshasa's Kinkole suburb. The patient was, in fact, a Congolese citizen returning from France, had contacted the health services two days after his arrival in Congo and was quarantined in the N'djili neighbourhood, the ministry later said.
Concern over the virus caused doctors and patients at the hospital where the patient was quarantined to leave the facility.
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