DR Congo national team may not be allowed to the World Cup due to Ebola outbreak

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) national football team must undergo a 21-day quarantine in Belgium before entering the United States for the World Cup amid the Ebola outbreak. This was announced on May 22 by Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House task force on tournament preparations.

"We've made it very clear to Congo that they have to maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can come to Houston on June 11," he said in an interview with ESPN.

According to Giuliani, the national team is currently in Belgium, where they are preparing and planning to play two friendly matches. Most of the national team's players play in European clubs, mainly in France.

As the executive director noted, if new employees join the team, they will need a separate quarantine. If symptoms of the disease appear in anyone from the team's entourage, the national team's participation in the tournament may be at risk, she added. "Газета.Ru ".

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On May 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) revised the risk assessment for the spread of the Ebola virus in the DRC, calling it very high. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization's director general, said that 82 cases of infection and seven deaths had been officially confirmed.

On May 21, the United States temporarily restricted entry for foreigners who had visited the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan for the last 21 days due to the outbreak of Ebola in these regions. It was noted that such passengers would be sent to Washington International Airport for mandatory medical examination.