Uganda imposes 21-day paid quarantine for travelers returning from DR Congo

Uganda’s health ministry announced on Sunday that citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo must complete a 21-day quarantine period at their own expense. The directive aims to prevent the Ebola virus from entering the country as the outbreak in neighboring DR Congo continues to claim lives.

Under the new protocol, travelers who have been in DR Congo are also prohibited from transiting through Ugandan territory. The ministry reported that it has intensified screening procedures at Entebbe International Airport and all land border crossings. Additional checks are now being conducted at designated road checkpoints to monitor incoming traffic.

Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi stated that only essential travelers from DR Congo will be admitted into the country. He described the incoming restrictions as "intense public health measures" designed to "ensure that we keep Uganda free of Ebola." The minister noted that Uganda shares a porous border with DR Congo, where transmission is ongoing, and that the two nations are tightly linked by trade, travel, and family connections.

The stricter controls follow scrutiny of two individuals who tested positive for Ebola in Kenya and Nigeria after passing through Entebbe airport on the same day. Uganda has maintained that it has recorded no domestic cases this month, despite an earlier spike of 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the outbreak. The World Health Organization declared the country free of the disease in August.

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 who had visited Kampala for a holiday. The Kenyan patient was a businessman with interests in DR Congo. Diana Atwine, the health ministry’s permanent secretary, confirmed that CCTV footage showed no physical interaction between the two travelers while they were in Uganda.

The Kenyan businessman died two days after arriving in Nairobi, and Kenya has since confirmed eight other cases. A second woman, a relative of the businessman, died over the weekend. Ugandan health officials stated that the 60 people monitored after contact with the Kenyan patient in Uganda have all been discharged.

While officials initially reported that the woman in Nigeria only transited through Uganda, the ministry announced on Sunday that Uganda and Nigeria are collaborating to determine her full travel history and possible routes of exposure. The current outbreak in DR Congo has killed more than 4,800 people since May, marking it as the country's deadliest Ebola event to date. The Bundibugyo species driving the outbreak has no available vaccine or specific treatment, though clinical trials are underway.