The Democratic Republic of Congo’s World Cup squad have been ordered to isolate for 21 days before they can enter the United States because of the Ebola outbreak in the country.
DR Congo are currently training in Belgium after their planned training camp in Kinshasa was cancelled due to the growing Ebola threat. The team has been instructed to remain in a “bubble” while in Belgium.
Strict Isolation Rules
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, told ESPN that the squad must maintain that bubble or risk not being able to travel to the United States.
“They need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer,” Giuliani said.
CDC Bans Entry
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has banned entry from non-Americans who have been in the DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days. All DR Congo’s players are based outside the country and will not be affected by the restrictions now the training camp has been cancelled.
If there are other people that are going to be coming in, they need to have a separate bubble from that team. If they end up coming, and any of those people end up symptomatic, they are risking the entire team being able to come and compete in this World Cup.
On-Field Implications
DR Congo are due to play friendlies against Denmark on June 3 in Belgium and Chile on June 9 in Spain. The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19, with DR Congo set to play Portugal in their opening game on June 17.
The WHO raised the public health risk from the Ebola outbreak in the DRC from “high” to “very high” on Friday, with Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying the risk in the wider region in Africa was “high” but remained “low” globally.
