Ebola outbreak in northeastern DRC officially declared over

The second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history has officially been declared over. Health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said the outbreak that began in the country's northeastern region in August 2018 had not seen any new cases in the past 42 days, which is the set waiting period before a proclamation can be made. Nearly 2,300 people died in the outbreak over the past nearly two years, and more than 3,400 people were infected. There were many challenges in responding to the outbreak: It was occurring in a conflict-ridden part of the DRC, and efforts were often hindered by attacks on health centers and workers. “We should celebrate this moment, but we must resist complacency. Viruses do not take breaks," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.