世界卫生组织负责人周一警告说，刚果民主共和国和乌干达迅速增长的埃博拉疫情“在好转之前会变得更糟。”
世卫组织总干事Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus博士在一次虚拟简报会上说，刚果民主共和国已报告超过900例病例和超过220例死亡。在这些总数中，已确认101例和10例死亡。
此外，根据世卫组织和乌干达卫生部的数据，乌干达有五例与旅行有关的病例和一例死亡。
“我们正面临一场极其严重和艰难的疫情。在好转之前，情况还会变得更糟，”谭德塞周一表示。“但我们了解这种病毒，我们知道如何阻止它。我们已经阻止了以前的每一次埃博拉疫情，我们也将阻止这一次。”
谭德塞说，他想响应南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨关于团结一致战胜疫情的评论。
“问题只是我们能多快做到这一点，以及在我们这样做之前会有多少人丧生，”谭德塞补充说。
谭德塞发表上述评论之际，刚果东北部一家医院正面临日益紧张的局势，原因是一位著名宗教领袖去世后，官员们难以遵守安全规则。
伊图里省是埃博拉疫情集中爆发的三个省份之一，该省蒙布瓦卢总转诊医院院长理查德·洛库迪博士告诉美国广播公司新闻，在一名确诊的埃博拉受害者的尸体被带到那里后，该医院处于高度紧张状态，他也是该地区的一名主要宗教人士。
洛库迪说，家庭成员和年轻人团体要求归还遗体。
由于该患者是确诊的埃博拉病例，当局坚持根据疫情协议进行“安全和有尊严的埋葬”，尸体暂时存放在医院，直到周一埋葬。
洛库迪说，警察和军队已经确保了医院的安全，并鸣枪警告驱散聚集在医院外面的抗议者。
他补充说，医院周围的枪声让他筋疲力尽，压力很大。
上周，谭德塞将埃博拉疫情列为国际关注的突发公共卫生事件，比联合国机构预警系统中的疫情低一级。
谭德塞周一表示，世卫组织继续认为国家风险评估“非常高”，而区域风险水平仍然“高”，全球风险水平仍然“低”。
疫情已经导致包括美国、印度、英国和澳大利亚在内的多个国家实施旅行限制。
进入美国仅限于最近到过刚果民主共和国、乌干达和南苏丹的外国游客。
与此同时，美国护照持有人和从这三个国家返回美国的美国公民将被集中到弗吉尼亚州的杜勒斯机场，接受症状筛查和可能接触的面谈。
从周六早上开始，亚特兰大哈兹菲尔德-杰克逊国际机场也开始加强检查工作，休斯顿乔治布什洲际机场的工作将于周二晚些时候开始。
合法永久居民(绿卡持有者)如果在过去21天内到过这三个国家中的任何一个，将被暂时禁止进入美国。
谭德塞周一表示，世卫组织团队正在疫情爆发地区协助应对，包括追踪接触者，建立治疗中心以及预防和控制感染。谭德塞补充说，他将于星期二前往刚果民主共和国。
世卫组织的负责人说，这次爆发的几个方面使它“特别具有挑战性”，包括检测爆发的延迟。
他周一表示:“(这)意味着我们现在正在追赶一种传播速度非常快的流行病。”。
他说，由于最近在面临疫情爆发冲击的省份发生的战斗，这意味着成千上万的人流离失所，并且“当地居民对外部当局非常不信任”
另一个挑战是，对于引发此次疫情的埃博拉病毒株:本迪布焦病毒，目前还没有获得批准的疫苗或治疗方法。
谭德塞说，世卫组织已经建议优先考虑两种单克隆抗体，以推进临床试验，并建议在临床试验中评估抗病毒obeldesivir，作为高危接触者的暴露后预防。
Ebola outbreak in DRC, Uganda 'will get worse before it gets better': WHO chief
The head of the World Health Organization warned on Monday that a rapidly growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda "will get worse before it gets better."
More than 900 cases and more than 220 deaths have been reported in the DRC, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a virtual briefing. Of those totals, 101 cases and 10 deaths have been confirmed.
Additionally, there have been five travel-related cases and a death in Uganda, according to the WHO and the Uganda Ministry of Health.
"We are facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better," Tedros said on Monday. "But we know this virus, and we know how to stop it. We have stopped every previous Ebola outbreak, and we will stop this one, too."
Tedros said he wanted to echo comments made by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about overcoming the outbreak with unity.
"The question is just how quickly we can do it, and how many more lives will be lost before we do," Tedros added.
Tedros' comments come amid a hospital in northeastern Congo facing growing tension as officials have trouble following safety rules following the death of a well-known religious leader.
Dr. Richard Lokudi, director of the Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital in Ituri province -- one of three provinces where the Ebola outbreak is concentrated -- told ABC News the facility is under heavy tension after the body of a confirmed Ebola victim, who was also a major religious figure in the region, was brought there.
Lokudi said that family members and groups of young people are demanding the body be returned.
Because the patient was a confirmed Ebola case, authorities are insisting on a "safe and dignified burial" under outbreak protocols, and the body is being temporarily kept at the hospital until burial on Monday.
Lokudi said police and military forces have been securing the hospital and firing warning shots to disperse protesters gathered outside.
He added that the gunfire around the hospital has left him exhausted and stressed.
Last week, Tedros classified the Ebola outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern -- one level below a pandemic in the United Nations agency's alert system.
The WHO continues to consider the national risk assessment as "very high" while the regional level risk remains "high" and the global risk level remains "low," Tedros said on Monday.
The outbreak has led to multiple countries, including the U.S., India, the U.K. and Australia, putting travel restrictions in place.
Entry to the U.S. is restricted to foreign travelerswho have recently been in the DRC, Uganda andSouth Sudan.
Meanwhile, U.S. passport holders and U.S. nationals returning to the U.S. from the three countries will be funneled to Dulles Airportin Virginia to bescreened for symptoms and interviewed about possible exposure.
Enhanced screening efforts have also begun at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as of Saturday morning and efforts at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston will begin late Tuesday.
Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who have been in any of the three countries over the last 21 days are barred from entering the U.S. temporarily.
Tedros said on Monday that WHO teams are on the ground in the outbreak zones assisting with response including contact tracing, establishing treatment centers and infection prevention and control. Tedros added that he will be traveling to the DRC on Tuesday.
The WHO chief said that several aspects of this outbreak make it "especially challenging," including the delays in detecting the outbreak.
"[It] means that we are now playing catch-up with a very fast-moving epidemic," he said on Monday.
He said that due to recent fighting in the provinces facing the brunt of the outbreak, it means tens of thousands of people are displaced and there is "significant distrust of outside authorities among the local population."
An additional challenge is that there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the strain of Ebola responsible for the outbreak: Bundibugyo virus.
Tedros said the WHO has recommended prioritizing two monoclonal antibodies to advance in clinical trials and recommended evaluating the antiviral obeldesivir in a clinical trial as post-exposure prophylaxis for those who are high-risk contacts.
