Credits:

00:02 Report by / Halida Abbaro
00:26 Roland Safari / Worshipper

Script:

0:00
ATMO FREE SINGING

0:03
The ban on large gatherings includes church masses. But it hasn't deterred THESE Catholic worshippers in Bunia. 

The city is at the heart of the rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Some of the faithful say the crisis has driven them to church for comfort, despite the risk. 

0:24
+++ SOT Roland Safari, Mass attendee (FRENCH) +++
"We know this disease exists, but there are preventative measures that Christians must observe. That's why, as you see with me, even with this face mask, we have sinks here and there. We must also maintain social distancing.
Just because there's a disease doesn't mean we can close the church. That's precisely why we come here: to ask God to help us in all these ways."

0:48
Gatherings of this size are complicating the efforts of health authorities to contain the outbreak. 

0:54
Funerals are especially dangerous, as the bodies of people who have died from Ebola are extremely infectious.
They're now carried out under Red Cross supervision, with armed police standing guard.

1:12
And two of the three Ebola treatment centers in the region have been burned down by residents. (May 21 - Rwampara, DRC) 

1:18
The World Health Organization says the outbreak now poses a "VERY high" risk for Congo — up from the previous  "high" — though the chances of the disease spreading globally remain low.

END