Uganda announces lockdown as Ebola cases rise
Uganda has announced that a lockdown of its borders will begin on Tuesday. With four deaths attributed to the 2014 Ebola outbreak so far, the country has become a leading global exporter of the disease. Its borders will be closed for a month-long period, meaning that citizens will have to self-isolate for 14 days. In a bid to prevent further cases, the government also suspended the country’s airport operations.
The country had not fully lifted its lockdown on 30 May, even after its health ministry reported an increase in cases.
So, for the time being they are not self isolating. As soon as we have a confirmed case where we are, we will be opening up for the entry of people.
When contacted this morning, the Minister of Health, Dr Muhoozi Waiguru, confirmed that the government suspended the country’s airports to prevent the further spread of the disease. He said:
This country has been very good about being transparent about the outbreak. So, for the time being, they are not self isolating, they are going into quarantine. We have closed the borders. And for the time being, we are monitoring people coming in.
The minister claimed that the WHO’s recommendation to close down the borders has been ignored.
We have also done the investigation to verify the source of the Ebola virus and we are following up with our partners on their investigation.
The ministry has not been able to confirm whether the WHO’s recommendations were ignored or if the epidemic has continued unabated after 30 May. The country has a population of 26 million.
The US has asked for a $20,500,000 military response package to help “address the epidemic”. In a statement, the White House said:
The US stands ready to assist the international response to combat the spread of EBOV.
We expect to receive the assistance package proposed by the US president