Confirmed Ebola cases surpass 300 in DR Congo: official

KINSHASA  - Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have reached 343, the country's Health Minister Roger Kamba said Monday, cited by the Congolese Press Agency (ACP), the country's official news outlet.

The announcement came after coordination meetings on the Ebola response, chaired by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa.

Kamba said that response operations are now better targeted following a government mission to Bunia, the capital of the eastern Ituri province and the epicenter of the outbreak.

Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said that Bunia Airport, currently closed except for humanitarian flights, is expected to reopen this week.

"The Bunia airport will be reopened this week, because preventive measures facilities, notably for handwashing and temperature checks, have been put in place," Muyaya was quoted by ACP as saying. "This reopening will help facilitate the delivery of support for the response."

The latest outbreak, declared on May 15, is the 17th in the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976.