The Democratic Republic of Congo is exiting its Covid-19 lockdown.
President Félix Tshisekedi said activities will restart in this order:
- Banks, shops, restaurants and pubs from Wednesday
- Public transport, social gatherings, meetings and celebrations from Wednesday
- Schools and universities will reopen on 3 August
- Places of worship, stadiums, airports and international borders on 15 August
- Social distancing and wearing of face masks in public will continue
The BBC reports that the end of lockdown comes after a drop in newly reported cases over the last two weeks.
The DRC has reported 8,543 Coronavirus cases and 196 deaths so far. However, testing in this huge country has been patchy, so there might be many other cases unrecorded.
In the north west, there has recently been an outbreak of Ebola, with up to 60 recent deaths.