UGANDA LOCKS DOWN TWO DISTRICTS OVER EBOLA OUTBREAK

Sun 16 October 2022:

In an effort to stop the spread of Ebola, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an immediate lockdown and the imposition of a dusk-till-dawn curfew for three weeks in two districts.

For a period of 21 days, the two central districts of Mubende and Kassanda will be closed to business, including places of worship, markets, bars, and entertainment.

“I now direct as follows: movements now into and out of Mubende and Kassanda districts are now prohibited,” said Museveni in a televised address on Saturday.

“If you are in Mubende and Kassanda districts, stay there for 21 days,” Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, said.

The health ministry said on Saturday that there have been 19 deaths and 58 confirmed cases of the often-fatal viral haemorrhagic fever since the outbreak was first reported on September 20.

Authorities said the outbreak is concentrated in the two affected districts and has not reached Kampala, the capital of 1.5 million, despite a husband and wife testing positive there.

The symptoms of Ebola, which is spread through bodily fluids, include fever, vomiting, bleeding, and diarrhea.

The difficulty of containing outbreaks increases in urban environments.

The most recent Ebola-related fatality in Uganda was in 2019.

The Sudan Ebola virus, for which there is currently no vaccine, is the specific strain that is currently present in Uganda.

Clinical trials for medications to treat that strain could begin in the coming weeks, according to the World Health Organization.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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