The worker had been treating Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was potentially exposed to the virus through their healthcare work. As a precaution, the UK government worked with the NHS, the DRC government and international health partners to arrange a medical evacuation.

This kind of evacuation is meant to get someone who may have been exposed to a dangerous pathogen into a controlled medical setting quickly, so they can be monitored and treated if needed. It reflects the seriousness with which Ebola exposure is handled, given the virus's severity, even when infection has not been confirmed.