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Uganda has banned all non-essential travel to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo and says its citizens returning from there will be quarantined for 21 days, in a bid to prevent the spread of Ebola into the country.
Only essential travellers, including aid workers, truck drivers and security personnel, will be allowed to cross the border from DR Congo into Uganda, subject to strict health screening, the health ministry announced.
Returning Ugandans will undergo 21 days of quarantine at their own cost. In addition, all travellers entering Uganda, regardless of their country of origin, will be required to complete locator forms to facilitate contact tracing where necessary.
The new restrictions come after questions were raised over the cases recorded in Kenya and Nigeria. Earlier this month, both countries reported their first cases of Ebola linked to the current outbreak.
A Kenyan businessman and a woman who was later treated in Nigeria both tested positive after travelling through Uganda, even though no cases have been reported there since August.
The two passengers tested positive after passing through Uganda’s Entebbe airport on the same day. Diana Atwine, the health ministry’s permanent secretary, said CCTV footage showed no physical interaction between them.
The Kenyan businessman, who had arrived from DR Congo where he had business interests, died two days after arriving in Nairobi.
Kenya has since confirmed eight other cases, while a second woman, related to the businessman, died over the weekend. About 60 people who were being monitored after coming into contact with him have all been discharged, Uganda’s health ministry said.
The patient in Nigeria is the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat who had travelled to the Ugandan capital for a holiday, according to the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Jean Kaseya. She was flown from Abuja to Switzerland today for further treatment, alongside her husband, who has shown no symptoms.
Nigeria’s health ministry said she was stable, conscious and able to communicate.
Ugandan officials had earlier said she travelled to eastern DR Congo and only transited through Uganda. On Sunday, however, the health ministry said Uganda and Nigeria were both working to establish her movements, complete travel history and possible routes of exposure. Authorities are still trying to determine where she contracted the virus.
Meanwhile, a nurse has been killed and another health worker seriously injured in an attack while responding to an Ebola alert in north-eastern DR Congo, according to a BBC report.
The two were targeted by local youths who accused them of contaminating water sources and spreading the Ebola virus, according to the UN-backed Radio Okapi.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) condemned the attack and extended its condolences to the family and colleagues of the nurse who was killed, while wishing the injured worker a swift recovery.
The BBC said it has contacted the Ebola response team for comment on the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The incident occurred as the outbreak, which began in May, continues to take a heavy toll in DR Congo. More than 4,800 people have died and nearly 10,000 have been infected since then.
Uganda has repeatedly stressed that no cases have been reported within its borders since the two cases emerged in Kenya and Nigeria. The country recorded 20 Ebola cases and two deaths shortly after the outbreak started in DR Congo, but the WHO declared it free of the disease in August.
The disease spreads from one person to another through contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit. The Bundibugyo species of Ebola behind the current outbreak is relatively rare, and there is still no vaccine or specific treatment, though trials are under way.
Reacting to the attack, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Health workers must be able to carry out their duties in safety and dignity. Healthcare personnel should always be protected.”
Uganda’s Health Minister, Chris Baryomunsi, told the BBC’s Newsday programme why the country is taking the measures, “All these are measures to ensure that we keep Uganda free of Ebola. We share a border with DR Congo, where transmission continues, and our communities remain closely connected through trade, travel and family ties.”
