Geneva — The World Health Organization on Wednesday said the risk of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s deadly Ebola outbreak was currently high at the national and regional levels but low worldwide.

WHO experts said that while investigations into its origins were ongoing, given the scale of the situation in the eastern DRC, the outbreak probably began a couple of months ago.

But the UN health agency’s emergency committee said it did not currently meet the pandemic emergency threshold.

“WHO assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level,” said the organization’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

So far, 51 cases have been confirmed in the DRC, in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, “although we know the scale of the epidemic in DRC is much larger,” he told a press conference at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva.

He said Uganda had also reported two confirmed cases in the capital Kampala, including one death, while a U.S. national working in the DRC has been confirmed positive and transferred to Germany. American doctor Peter Stafford, whose family lived with him in the DRC, was evacuated to Germany and was receiving treatment, the missionary group Serge said Tuesday.   

“There are several factors that warrant serious concern about the potential for further spread and further deaths,” said Tedros.

“Beyond the confirmed cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths,” he said. “We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected.”

Ebola outbreak not “a pandemic emergency”

On Sunday, Tedros declared the situation a public health emergency of international concern — the second-highest level of alarm under the legally binding International Health Regulations (IHR) — triggering emergency responses in countries worldwide.

The WHO emergency committee convened to assess the outbreak met on Tuesday.

“The current situation and criteria for a public health emergency of international concern have been met, and we agree that the current situation does not satisfy the criteria for a pandemic emergency,” the committee’s chair, Lucille Blumberg, told reporters from South Africa.

Anais Legand, WHO technical officer on viral hemorrhagic fevers, said investigations were under way to pinpoint how long Ebola has been spreading in the eastern DRC.

“Given the scale, we are thinking that it has started probably a couple of months ago, but investigations are ongoing and our priority is really to cut the transmission chain by implementing contact tracing, isolating and caring for all suspect and confirmed cases,” she said.

WHO responds to U.S. criticism

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said the WHO was “a little late” in identifying a deadly outbreak.

President Trump, in one of his first acts on returning to office last year, set in motion a U.S. withdrawal from the WHO, which he attacked bitterly over its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous public health officials and experts warned at the time that, as one of the world’s largest funders of global health through both international and national agencies, including the WHO, America’s step back from such programs could impact efforts to provide lifesaving healthcare and combat deadly outbreaks, especially in lower-income countries.

Asked about Rubio’s criticism, Tedros said that “maybe what the secretary said … could be from lack of understanding of how IHR work, and the responsibilities of WHO and other entities,” he said, explaining that the agency acted in support of countries rather than replacing them in outbreak responses.

In:

A New York doctor who contracted and survived Ebola more than a decade ago says he is worried for healthcare workers who are at the center of treating the latest outbreak in a remote province of eastern Congo. 

“Healthcare workers are the group that I’m really concerned about because they had very close contact with people when they’re most contagious, particularly around the time of folks’ death,” Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency room physician and public health professor at Brown University, told CBS News on Friday.

Authorities in eastern Congo’s Ituri province are contending with a new Ebola outbreak that is suspected in at least 246 cases, including 65 deaths, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday.

This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the Congo since 1976. One of the worst outbreaks killed more than 11,000 people between 2014 and 2016. 

“What we know very well that the country has experience, but the region where it is happening is highly volatile with the humanitarian situation going on and the population moving around from South Sudan to Uganda and other parts,” Dr. Abdi Rahman Mahamud, World Health Organization director of health emergency alert and response operations, said during a news conference Friday.

Spencer contracted Ebola while working with the nonprofit group Doctors Without Borders in Guinea in September 2014. He was in Guinea for three weeks working with Ebola patients.

When he returned to New York City the following month, arriving home on Oct. 17, 2014, he said he began to self-monitor, taking his temperature twice a day.

Then on Oct. 23, 2014, just under a week after returning home, he developed a fever and was rushed by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital, a designated Ebola treatment center at the time.

Health officials tested and decontaminated his apartment, and his fiancée at the time and two friends were quarantined.

“The one that I was infected with, the Zaire strain, seems to have the highest mortality, but they all produce pretty similar symptoms of fatigue [that] ultimately leads to vomiting, diarrhea, incredible weakness and weight loss,” Spencer said.  

He was hospitalized at Bellevue for 19 days and made a full recovery. He was treated with a combination of antiviral and experimental treatments, as well as blood transfusions from an Ebola survivor.

“Let me tell you, 19 days in a room by yourself, other than a small window, a tiny screen… and providers who came in a few times a day dressed in space suits. That’s your only human interaction,” Spencer said. “I’m lucky though, because I’m alive, and the majority of people that were infected with Ebola are not, particularly the people that I was taking care of in West Africa and Guinea at that time.”

According to CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder, the latest outbreak is believed to be a strain known as the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, or BDV. Gounder says that strain has only been responsible for two known outbreaks prior to this, a 2007 outbreak in Uganda with 55 cases and an outbreak in the Congo in 2012 with 57 cases.

She said there are no approved vaccines or treatments for BDV.

“Medical professionals seem very concerned about the possibility or the ability to contain this,” Gounder said. “It’s already a big outbreak at the point that we’re hearing about it. There have already been a number of deaths. And this is a strain of Ebola for which we have no treatment, no vaccines.”

The Africa CDC reported that of only 20 samples tested so far, 13 have been confirmed positive. 

The U.S. has been the single largest external player in Ebola outbreak response in the past, but now experts worry about the impact of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and its withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization.

Spencer said he believes it’s possible there’s a connection between the shutdown of USAID and the fact that the latest outbreak was not officially announced until Friday. He said it’s also concerning that the White House does not have a director for its Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Gerald Parker, who Trump tapped to run the office in February 2025, resigned later that year, and the position has remain unfilled. 

“Right now, we don’t have that capacity,” he said of responding quickly to global outbreaks. “We don’t have a director or anyone in the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response. We don’t have anyone coordinating across the State Department and the CDC, and our relations with foreign actors and the WHO. We’ve gotten rid of a lot of those lessons we learned the hard way over the past decade, and over the past five years.”

Prior to the latest moves by the Trump administration, Spencer said, the U.S. would have likely had USAID and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials on the ground in the Congo before the outbreak.

“Before the second Trump administration, USAID would have been on the ground,” Spencer said. “The CDC would have been on the ground at a moment’s notice, maybe even before a moment’s notice of a new outbreak of Ebola because we were in a bunch of countries. We created relationships beforehand.”

Despite those issues, though, Spencer said he believes the U.S. is still capable of dealing with a virus like Ebola, which he says “is not that great at spreading” despite its high mortality rate. He noted the U.S. response this month to the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch cruise ship. Eighteen Americans who were aboard the ship are currently being monitored in a quarantine unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  

“We’ve seen over the past couple weeks with the national quarantine unit we have in Nebraska and the over a dozen centers that we have around the U.S. that are capable of taking care of very high consequence pathogens like hantavirus and Ebola,” Spencer said. “These were all commitments that we made as a country, particularly and partly because of cases like my own a decade ago.”

In:

Retail investors have stayed committed to Indian markets through multiple challenges over the past few years, including a pandemic, global rate shocks, and geopolitical turmoil. What has kept them engaged is not the lure of quick gains, but a growing belief that Indian capital markets are steadily maturing into a credible platform for long-term wealth creation.

That belief, however, is not permanent. It needs to be reinforced as investors’ financial commitments grow year after year. In a truly VUCA world, this Budget arrives at a time when markets are seeking something more fundamental and predictable.

Taxation is one area where confidence needs to be strengthened. India’s capital market taxes are often discussed in isolation, but investors do not think that way. Capital is global, and comparisons are inevitable.

Take the Securities Transaction Tax (STT). India remains one of the very few major equity markets to levy a transaction-level tax on every trade. The United States does not have it. Japan does not have it. Most Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore and Hong Kong, have consciously stayed away from such taxes to keep markets liquid and competitive. Europe experimented with transaction taxes in select countries, only to see volumes migrate elsewhere.

STT may be easy to collect, but it is imposed irrespective of profitability. Over time, it becomes a tax on participation itself. Even a clearly articulated roadmap to gradually reduce STT would go a long way in improving market sentiment. Unfortunately, STT has been increased to relatively high levels in recent years, and the hope is that some relief will be provided this year.

The same logic applies to the Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT). Ever since CTT was introduced in 2013 on non-agricultural commodities, trading volumes have taken a significant hit. If the objective is to build deeper and more efficient commodity markets, this tax needs reconsideration. A mature commodity market is critical for supporting industrial users, infrastructure players, and broader commercial interests as the economy expands.

Long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax is another area where global context matters. The US taxes long-term gains but offers various incentives linked to holding periods and effectively adjusts for inflation through its tax structure. Many European countries tax long-term equity gains lightly or exempt them under specific conditions. Singapore and Hong Kong do not tax capital gains at all.India controversially reintroduced LTCG on listed equities in 2018. While investors have adapted, the bigger issue today is predictability, especially for foreign portfolio investors. Frequent interpretational challenges, treaty-related uncertainties, and the lingering fear of retrospective action add to India’s risk premium. Stability and simplicity would matter far more than marginal rate tweaks. Year-on-year changes, in particular, tend to unsettle investor sentiment.

Short-term capital gains are taxed across jurisdictions, but in India they sit atop an already high STT and other levies. Looking at each tax in isolation misses the point. Markets would prefer a simpler, more rational structure, even if it means lower rates combined with broader participation. After all, India’s scale, with over 13 crore unique demat accounts and a steadily growing base, can eventually compensate for lower rates through higher volumes.

Widening the tax base can unlock substantial government revenues through direct taxes and indirect levies such as GST.

Mutual funds deserve special attention in this discussion. The SIP culture has transformed Indian markets, with monthly inflows providing a steady counterbalance to volatile global flows. However, retail investors are extremely sensitive to tax changes. Sudden shifts in the taxation of debt or hybrid funds create confusion and hesitation, often pushing savers back toward unproductive assets such as real estate or low-yield, risk-averse instruments like bank fixed deposits. This is counterproductive to mobilising risk capital.

If India wants sustained domestic capital formation, mutual funds must be supported with predictable, long-term tax treatment. The objective should be to keep household savings firmly within the formal financial system.

Over the last two years, more than 500 companies have raised capital through India’s IPO markets. This reflects not just favourable market conditions but a growing entrepreneurial momentum. IPOs are where private ambition meets public participation, and retail investors have played an increasingly important role. They take risks by investing in newly listed companies, yet often feel penalised for protecting capital by selling post listing. Speculative behaviour is an inherent part of capital formation and should not be discouraged, as doing so may hamper efficient price discovery.

Today, retail investors directly own about 10% of India’s equity markets through direct stock holdings. Through mutual funds, they own another 10%. In effect, one-fifth of India’s listed equity wealth belongs to households—and this share continues to rise.

This is a structural shift that must be harnessed. Long-term participation cannot thrive in an environment where long-term savings are repeatedly taxed more than necessary. If policymakers want patient capital to fund capex cycles, innovation, and business expansion, long-term equity ownership must be actively encouraged.

The economy needs to regain momentum. From that standpoint, one of the most effective ways to do so may be through a decisive expansion of government capital expenditure, particularly in defence. Political instability in South Asia is deeply concerning. India stands out as the only stable and legitimate democracy in the region, surrounded by countries facing economic distress and political turmoil. This reality underscores the need for significantly higher investment in national security over the coming years.

Beyond defence, preparing infrastructure for a Viksit Bharat with multi-year visibility will be crucial for sustaining long-term growth. If the government is to meaningfully step up capital expenditure over the next year while maintaining fiscal discipline below 5%, it must sharply curtail revenue expenditure.
Currently, revenue spending accounts for nearly four-fifths of total government expenditure, while capex makes up just one-fifth. This rebalancing will be politically challenging, but it is necessary to secure long-term gains, even at the cost of short-term pain.

With inflation at relatively low levels, this may be the ideal time to roll out an ambitious, multi-year National Infrastructure Plan over the next five years.

(Tejas Khoday is co-Founder & CEO, FYERS)

A large Wisconsin medical records software company had told its thousands of workers they would have to return to the office beginning this week, over many of their objections. But now, after a “CBS This Morning” report and pressure from local public health officials, the company, Epic Systems, is temporarily pushing back its plans.

Epic planned to start bringing over 9,000 employees back to its campus in phases beginning Monday, but Dane County’s top official, Executive Joe Parisi, says that’s a mistake.

“We’re all making sacrifices during this pandemic, and while we would all like to be together and be able to meet in person, we can’t do that for a while,” he told consumer investigative correspondent Anna Werner. “And Epic is going to have to adhere by the same rules as everyone else.”

After a “CBS This Morning” story on the concerns from Epic employees ran last week, the regional public health department said the same. On Friday, it sent Epic a letter, citing “complaints” it’s received about the plan and noting it had previously warned Epic the plan might violate the department’s COVID-19 emergency order. That order told employers to “limit staff … in offices” and “facilitate remote work.” 

The department went on to say that Epic had claimed that “it was facilitating remote work by requiring staff to work in the office, but allowing them to work alone in their office.” 

Of that, department officials wrote, “Epic’s interpretation is incorrect. Remote work does not include working in the office.”

“Working remotely means working remotely, usually from home. It doesn’t mean coming into the office and working from an office,” Parisi said.

Asked if Epic’s argument even passed the common sense test, Parisi said, “It’s something on which we have a disagreement with Epic.”

In an email to employees over the weekend, obtained by CBS News, Epic said it was “modifying our return-to-work policy” and employees who were told to return as of Monday “are no longer required to do so.” 

But the company still insists it will bring its employees back, and is asking public health officials to further review and approve its plan, saying, “Our intention is to … be a model for others for how to return to work safely.”

Epic CEO Judy Faulkner explained the company’s reason to employees in an email earlier in July, saying, “we are losing, big time, the culture that made the company successful.” 

But in a recording leaked to CBS News of an online meeting on July 22 with hundreds of Epic managers, Vice President of Technical Services Brett Rehm explained it somewhat differently.

“We want to share transparently the plans that are in place,” he said. “Because we’re not going to infinitely allow people to choose their own adventure on this stuff. That’s always been true for people that say, I want to work remotely, I want to do other things. There are business considerations here, and as managers it’s important you guys keep some of those things in mind.” 

“Everybody needs to figure this out, but I don’t think Epic is an evil bad guy here,” Rehm continued. 

Some of the company’s own health care clients disagree with Epic’s plan. In comments shared with CBS News from an internal Epic system, one described Epic as “falling short of their responsibilities when it comes to their own employees.”

Another said, “I hope Epic leadership will … admit it was wrong and reverse course.” 

Some employees say they couldn’t agree more. “It’s not worth taking that risk when we can do our jobs well from home,” one said.

Epic continues to say the company believes it is complying with regulations and employee safety is a priority. They have also hired a doctor and are consulting with experts. And they’ve told employees who do choose to return this week that they can do that gradually on more flexible schedules. 

The Chinese city of Wuhan is going under quarantine to contain the new and deadly coronavirus. As Ramy Inocencio reports, health officials are considering declaring an international health emergency.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is issuing its most urgent travel warning to stop the deadly outbreak of the coronavirus. There are now two more possible cases in the U.S. Carter Evans reports.

It’s been five years since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, driving billions of people indoors and killing more than a million people in the U.S. Dr. Jon LaPook examines what lessons we can take away from that health crisis.

Five years ago, COVID-19 touched down on U.S. soil when a man from Washington state flew home after a trip to Wuhan, China. But for days, officials didn’t know he was carrying the virus because the U.S. at the time wasn’t testing airplanes. Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to catch viral intruders before they spread. Dr. Celine Gounder explains.