World Cup Congo team gets warm welcome in Houston, as their country deals with health crisis

Now with a warm welcome at Bush Airport, the national team for the Democratic Republic of Congo has made it to Houston. The squad not only making history in its country when it comes to soccer, but also dealing with concerns about the Ebola virus. >> Jason Miles, he is live from Bush Intercontinental Airport with more for us. Jason. >> Hey there guys.

Yeah, the DRC team arriving here at Terminal E within the last hour and a half or so. Actually, their flight landed about an hour and a half ago. It took a while to get through customs. Look, they finally came here through the doors from the customs arrival area. This is the first time in 52 years that the DRC has qualified for the World Cup.

So, it’s a very big deal and it comes as that country also deals with a deadly Ebola outbreak that has taken hundred so far. You can see the festive welcome here today. The squad’s training camp was previously moved to Belgium where they trained in a COVID-style bubble, if you will. Meanwhile, a pre-tournament match this week against Chile was played without spectators in France after concerns in an originally planned venue there. >> they uh quarantined in another region for over 21 days, which is the timing of disease where symptoms would emerge.

>> Dr. Jill Weatherhead is an infectious disease expert with Baylor College of Medicine. She says there’s a very low risk of any kind of Ebola outbreak during the World Cup here in Houston, but that does not mean people should not be aware of the symptoms and act accordingly. She points out that unlike something like COVID, Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of someone who’s infected. Now, obviously, Ebola remains a concern definitely in the home country of uh this DRC team, but their big focus likely right now, their next match.

And that is next Wednesday against Portugal. Reporting live from Bush Airport, Jason Miles, KHOU 11 News.