Authorities in north-eastern Congo banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people yesterday in an effort to curb a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in a region where medical workers have struggled with a lack of resources and pushback from angry residents.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the outbreak now poses a “very high” risk for Congo — up from a previous categorisation of “high” — but that the risk of the disease spreading globally remains low.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 82 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed in Congo, but that the outbreak is believed to be “much larger.”