US donates $6M to DRC to fight COVID-19

KAMPALA, Uganda

Officials in Democratic Republic of Congo has said that U.S. government has provided $6 million in humanitarian funding to the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

Anthony Masima, the deputy commissioner of the Health Ministry, said: "We thank the U.S. for donating that money to us. We, like the rest of the world, are going through hard times due to coronavirus. We appreciate generosity of the U.S."

He said the country has taken measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 and the funds from the U.S. will help them in continuing to do so.

The donation has come when the Congolese government has already released $1.8 million to carry out actions to contain the deadly virus, according to Dr. Jean Jaques Muyembe, the coordinator of the technical secretariat for the response to COVID-19.

He also thanked the U.S. for the gesture, saying that the money will go a long way in helping the county to fight against the scourge.

Currently, the DRC has 98 cases of COVID-19, and eight deaths have been recorded so far, while three recoveries have been confirmed.

Soon after 17 new cases were reported on Monday, authorities have expressed fears that the number of victims will rise.

- Spread of COVID-19

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, in December, the virus known as COVID-19 has spread to at least 178 countries and regions. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.

According to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University, the confirmed number of cases worldwide has surpassed 801,400, with the death toll over 38,700, and more than 172,600 recoveries.

Despite the severity of the virus, most people experience mild symptoms and recover.