Uganda's Ebola Wall: Travelers from Congo Pay Full Price for 21-Day Isolation

Ugandan citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo must now pay for their own 21-day isolation. The health ministry announced the measures on Sunday, stating that travelers arriving from the Congo will be barred from transiting through the country.

Ministry officials said the new protocol shifts the financial burden of quarantine to the individuals involved. This change accompanies stricter entry requirements, which limit admission to only essential travelers from the Congo. Those who are permitted entry will undergo what officials described as intense public health measures.

Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi told the BBC that the goal is to keep Uganda free of Ebola. He noted that the country shares a border with the Congo and that communities remain closely linked through trade, travel, and family ties. Baryomunsi emphasized that recent cases elsewhere show the risk has not passed.

The new rules follow the death of a Kenyan businessman in Nairobi. The man had traveled from the Congo and passed through Entebbe International Airport. He died two days after arriving in Kenya. A second woman, identified as a Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat, tested positive in Nigeria. She had also transited through Uganda.

Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, provided details on the Nigerian patient. The ministry confirmed that 60 people monitored after contact with the Kenyan patient in Uganda have all been discharged. Officials stated that CCTV footage showed no physical interaction between the two individuals in Uganda.

The outbreak in the Congo has killed more than 4,800 people since May, making it the deadliest in the country's history. Uganda recorded 20 cases and two deaths early in the outbreak but was declared free of the disease by the World Health Organization in August. The ministry said it is now working with Nigeria to establish the full travel history of the recent cases.

There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo species of Ebola driving this outbreak. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids. Uganda has stepped up screening at Entebbe Airport and all land border crossings, with extra checks at designated road checkpoints.