Uganda bars travellers with DRC travel history from transit
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on The Independent
Uganda bars travellers who have stayed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Ebola is spreading, after two travellers tested positive in Nigeria and Kenya. The Health Ministry is also imposing locator forms and strengthening border surveillance, according to Xinhua, citing a ministry statement.
Uganda has barred travellers who have stayed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from transiting through the country to limit the spread of Ebola, the Ugandan Health Ministry announced on Friday, according to Xinhua. The measure follows the transit through Uganda of a traveller suspected of having stayed in the DRC who tested positive on arrival in Nigeria, followed by another traveller who tested positive in Kenya at the beginning of October.
All travellers, regardless of their origin, must now fill in a locator form to facilitate contact tracing. Screening and preventive measures have been strengthened at points of entry and exit and in health facilities, while national surveillance continues.
The ministry warned that people entering Uganda through unauthorised routes would face prosecution. Uganda remains free of Ebola, after recording 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths, before the previous outbreak officially ended on 27 August, according to the World Health Organisation and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The measure extends the reintroduction of traveller monitoring forms announced on 24 October.
