Photo credit, Reuters
Ugandans returning from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo will be quarantined for 21 days, the health ministry said, as the country tightens restrictions to contain the spread of the Ebola virus.
More than 4,800 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo since May – the country's deadliest outbreak – and the disease has since spread to several other countries.
The restrictions imposed by Uganda follow questions raised after two people who passed through the country tested positive for the Ebola virus, in Kenya and Nigeria.
The Health Ministry announced Sunday that all 60 people who were under surveillance after coming into contact with the Kenyan Ebola patient had been allowed to leave hospital.
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Announcing the new measures on Sunday, the health ministry said travelers who had been in the Democratic Republic of Congo would not be allowed to transit through Uganda.
It was clarified that returning Ugandans would be “subject to a 21-day quarantine at their own expense”.
Uganda has also “intensified screening of travelers at Entebbe International Airport and all land border crossing points, supported by checks at designated road checkpoints,” he added.
Ugandan Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi told the BBC's Newsday that only essential travelers from the DRC would be allowed into the country, but they would be subject to "strict public health measures".
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“These are all measures to ensure that Uganda remains Ebola-free,” he said.
Since the detection of two cases in Kenya and Nigeria this month, Uganda has repeatedly reaffirmed that no cases have been recorded on its territory. Uganda had recorded 20 Ebola cases and two deaths shortly after the outbreak began in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the World Health Organization declared the country free of the disease in August.
Concerns however persist after two passengers tested positive after transiting through Uganda's Entebbe airport on the same day.
The patient in Nigeria is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat who had gone to the Ugandan capital for vacation, according to Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while the Kenyan was from the Democratic Republic of Congo where he had business interests.
Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Health, said CCTV camera footage did not show any physical interaction between the two patients.
The Kenyan businessman died two days after arriving in Nairobi, and the country has since confirmed eight more cases of Ebola. A second woman, related to the businessman, died over the weekend.
Ugandan authorities had previously indicated that the patient in Nigeria had traveled to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, only transiting through Uganda. On Sunday, however, the health ministry said Uganda and Nigeria were working together to trace his movements, reconstruct his full travel history and identify possible routes of contamination.
Uganda's health minister said recent cases meant the risk was not over and once again stressed the need to "remain vigilant".
“We share a border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where transmission continues, and our communities remain closely linked through trade, travel and family ties,” Baryomunsi said.
The disease is spread from person to person through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.
The Ebola Bundibugyo species causing this outbreak is relatively rare and there is still no vaccine or specific treatment – although trials are underway.
Additional reporting by Swaibu Ibrahim in Kampala
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We used AI to help translate this article, originally written in English. A BBC journalist checked the translation before publication. Learn more about how we use AI.
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