Uganda Restricts Travel with Congo Over Ebola Outbreak
Uganda will tightly restrict travel to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo because of an Ebola outbreak, Ugandan officials announced on Thursday, as health workers in the region rush to stop the virus from spreading.
Uganda’s health ministry said that all flights to and from Congo would be temporarily suspended and that the measure would take effect in 48 hours.
The ministry also said that Uganda was temporarily suspending all cross-border travel with Congo on ferries, buses and other forms of public transportation for four weeks. It temporarily suspended cultural celebrations and commemorations “that attract big numbers of participants along the D.R.C.-Uganda Border,” the ministry added.
The Ebola outbreak has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. In the six days since the outbreak was declared, the number of suspected infections has risen to nearly 600, including 139 deaths, according to the W.H.O.
The Ugandan authorities’ announcement came as the virus appeared to spread to a third province in Congo that is far from the center of the outbreak.
The outbreak is centered in Congo’s northeastern Ituri Province, and cases have also been reported about 350 miles from there, in Goma, a city in North Kivu Province. On Thursday, a 28-year-old was reported to have died form Ebola in South Kivu, a province controlled by M23, a rebel group. M23 said in a statement on social media that lab testing had confirmed the case, and Congo’s central government confirmed it.
The State Department said this week that it was sending $23 million to Congo and Uganda that would go toward protective equipment and other resources. On Tuesday, it announced that it was funding up to 50 clinics and covering “associated frontline costs” in the two countries as part of a broader response to the outbreak.
The department also said that the treatment centers it was funding would be “rapidly deployed” and were meant to “strengthen outbreak containment.”
The announcement followed criticism of the Trump administration by international health experts, who have argued that cuts to foreign aid and the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development have made it harder for the W.H.O. and countries affected by Ebola to combat the outbreak.
The government of Uganda has announced the suspension of flights between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), alongside tighter border control measures aimed at preventing the spread of the deadly Ebola outbreak currently affecting eastern Congo.
The measures come shortly after Rwanda also decided to close its border with the DRC due to growing concerns over the epidemic.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health said two people arriving from the DRC had tested positive for Ebola, with one of the patients later dying from the disease. Authorities added that 127 people who came into contact with the infected individuals have been placed under quarantine for monitoring.
Ugandan officials said the suspension of flights and reinforced border screening are part of efforts to stop the virus from spreading into the country, especially given the high level of cross-border movement between Uganda and the DRC.
