The World Health Organization’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said later on Monday that six cases had been identified by Congo’s Health Ministry.
No cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Mbandaka, although more than 3,000 have been confirmed across Congo.
The new outbreak in Équateur would be Congo’s 11th since the virus was first identified in 1976.
Rickety health infrastructure and mistrust in governments and foreign aid organizations have impeded Ebola responses in Congo and West Africa.