Uganda has ordered a 21-day quarantine for citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the health ministry said on Sunday, October 25. The Uganda Ebola quarantine tightens precautions after cases in Kenya and Nigeria involving people who passed through Uganda.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the measure at a news conference in Kampala, according to allAfrica. Travellers with a history of travel to the DRC must quarantine at their own expense. BBC World reported that Ugandans returning from the DRC will undergo the 21 days of quarantine at their own cost.
Uganda will not allow travellers from the DRC to transit through the country, and only essential travellers from the DRC will be admitted, subject to intense public health measures, according to BBC World. Uganda has also intensified screening at Entebbe International Airport and all land border crossings, and all travellers must complete a passenger locator form, according to the Straits Times.
The Straits Times reported that the Kenyan patient travelled from the DRC through Uganda and flew from Entebbe to Nairobi on October 3. He died two days later.
Nigeria’s CDC said a 42-year-old Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat returned from Uganda to Abuja on October 3, according to the Straits Times. She is in isolation, and 53 contacts have been traced. Uganda has not confirmed the contact figure, and no second source has reported it.
Diana Atwine, the health ministry’s permanent secretary, said a review of CCTV footage showed no physical interaction between the Kenyan and Nigerian patients, who passed through Entebbe on the same day, according to BBC World.
The accounts differ on where the Nigerian woman was infected. Swiss authorities said she contracted Ebola during a visit to Uganda in September, according to allAfrica, and the Straits Times reported that she is believed to have contracted it in Uganda. Baryomunsi said Switzerland was "speaking prematurely," noting that relatives who had visited the DRC met her in Kansanga, Kampala. The WHO’s October 23 update said available information did not indicate she herself had travelled to the DRC, according to allAfrica.
Nigerian authorities said genomic testing found the virus closely related to the Kenyan index case, but no direct link has been established.
Uganda declared its Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak over in July, after 20 infections and two deaths. The Bundibugyo strain has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. The DRC is the centre of the current outbreak, which began in May and has spread across eight provinces. The WHO advised against travel or trade restrictions on affected countries and called for stronger cross-border surveillance.
DRC death figures conflict. BBC World reported more than 4,800 deaths since May. allAfrica, citing WHO figures as of October 20, reported 9,704 cases and 4,687 deaths. The sources use different dates.
Several points remain unresolved. No Swiss government response to Baryomunsi’s rebuttal has been reported. Uganda earlier said the woman only transited through the country, but its health ministry said on Sunday that her movements were still being confirmed. The Straits Times alone reported an attack on health workers in Bafwasende, Congo, citing WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and no independent confirmation was available. Only partial text of the allAfrica report was available.
Uganda and Nigeria are continuing investigations into the patients’ movements, possible exposure routes and whether the cases share a transmission chain. Genomic and travel data are under review.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.