Uganda forces returnees from DR Congo to self-fund 21-day Ebola quarantine

Uganda’s health ministry announced on Sunday that citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo will undergo a 21-day quarantine period at their own expense. The directive aims to contain the spread of the Ebola virus after two individuals who transited through Kampala tested positive in neighboring nations.

The measure follows the confirmation that a Kenyan businessman and a Ugandan-born diplomat’s wife both tested positive for the virus after passing through Entebbe International Airport. The Kenyan patient, who had business interests in the DR Congo, died two days after arriving in Nairobi. A second woman related to the businessman also died over the weekend, bringing the total confirmed cases in Kenya to eight.

Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi stated that only essential travelers from the DR Congo will be permitted entry, subject to intense public health measures. He emphasized that the new protocols are necessary to keep Uganda free of the disease, noting that the country shares a border with the DR Congo where transmission continues. Communities remain closely connected through trade, travel, and family ties, according to Baryomunsi.

The ministry reported that 60 people previously monitored after contact with the Kenyan patient have been discharged. Diana Atwine, the health ministry’s permanent secretary, indicated that CCTV footage showed no physical interaction between the two infected travelers while they were in Uganda. Officials are currently working with Nigerian authorities to establish the complete travel history and possible exposure routes for the patient in Nigeria.

Uganda has intensified screening at Entebbe International Airport and all land border crossings, supported by checks at designated road checkpoints. The country previously recorded 20 Ebola cases and two deaths during the initial outbreak, but the World Health Organization declared it free of the disease in August. No new cases have been reported within Uganda’s borders since the recent transiting cases were identified.

The current outbreak in the DR Congo has killed more than 4,800 people since May, making it the deadliest in the country’s history. The Bundibugyo species of Ebola driving this outbreak is relatively rare, with no existing vaccine or specific treatment, although clinical trials are underway. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.