Uganda mandates self-funded isolation for returnees from Congo

The Ugandan government has introduced strict entry requirements for its nationals returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo. These measures aim to prevent the Ebola virus from re-entering the country after recent detections in neighboring Kenya and Nigeria. Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the protocol on Sunday, stating that the steps are necessary to ensure Uganda remains free of the disease.

Under the new directive, travelers returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo must spend 21 days in quarantine. The ministry specified that returnees will bear the full cost of their own isolation. Additionally, individuals who have recently been in the Democratic Republic of Congo are no longer permitted to transit through Ugandan territory. These rules apply to all entry points, including air and land borders.

The health ministry has intensified screening procedures at Entebbe International Airport and all land border crossings. Extra checks are now conducted at designated road checkpoints to monitor incoming traffic. Baryomunsi told the BBC's Newsday programme that only essential travelers from the Democratic Republic of Congo would be admitted. He described the incoming checks as "intense public health measures" designed to protect the population.

The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed more than 4,800 lives since May, making it the country's deadliest epidemic of the virus. The disease has since spread to several other nations. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths early in the outbreak, but the World Health Organization declared the country free of the disease in August.

The tightened controls follow the discovery of two positive cases in Kenya and Nigeria. Both individuals passed through Entebbe airport on the same day. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, identified the Nigerian patient as the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat. She had traveled to Kampala for a holiday before returning to Nigeria. The Kenyan patient was a businessman with business interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo who died two days after arriving in Nairobi.

Diana Atwine, the health ministry's permanent secretary, stated that CCTV footage showed no physical interaction between the two travelers. Uganda is currently monitoring 60 people who had contact with the Kenyan patient, and all have been discharged. The ministry said it is working with Nigerian officials to establish the full travel history of the Nigerian patient to determine her possible routes of exposure.

Baryomunsi noted that Uganda shares a border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where transmission continues. He emphasized that communities remain closely linked through trade, travel, and family ties. The Bundibugyo species of Ebola responsible for this outbreak has no available vaccine or specific treatment, though clinical trials are currently underway.