Two more people have died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to reports on Wednesday, May 23, as officials said that three Ebola patients have escaped quarantine.
Two patients left the hospital Monday night with the help of family members, Reuters reported, citing the U.N. World Health Organization, adding that they went to a church.
One patient died at home the next day and was buried with the aid of Medecins Sans Frontieres. The other was taken back to the hospital and died that night, officials said.
Another patient close to being discharged left Sunday but was found later, Reuters reported.
“This is a hospital. It’s not a prison. We can’t lock everything,” Henry Gray, the head of the MSF mission in Mbandaka, told the news agency.
“It is unfortunate but not unexpected,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic was quoted as saying. “It is normal for people to want the loved ones to be at home during what could be the last moments of life.”
WHO’s response chief warned that the fight to put an end to the Ebola outbreak is at a critical point.
Officials are particularly concerned that the disease could spread via the Congo River, which passes through Mbandaka and leads to Kinshasa, the capital, which has 10 million people living there.
The outbreak was first reported near the town of Bikoro, located about 60 miles south of the city.