Uganda Requires DRC Returnees to Quarantine 21 Days at Own Expense

Uganda is requiring citizens who return with a history of travel in the Democratic Republic of Congo to complete a 21-day quarantine at their own expense. Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced the step Sunday, saying: "If you are a Ugandan citizen returning to Uganda and have a history of having been in the DRC, we will subject you to a 21-day quarantine (the incubation period of the Ebola virus), at your expense." Movement across the Uganda-DRC border remains limited to essential travelers, including humanitarian workers and commercial truck drivers. Travelers with DRC travel history cannot transit Uganda, including on chartered flights. Screening has been intensified at Entebbe and land borders; the ministry said relevant provisions of the Public Health Act will be invoked for non-compliance. Uganda says it has recorded no confirmed cases since declaring its outbreak over. Kenya's first patient, a 40-year-old man living in Congo, passed through Uganda, arrived in Kenya on Oct. 3, tested positive, and died Oct. 5; a 65-year-old relative died Friday. Nigeria confirmed an imported Bundibugyo case in a woman who traveled from Uganda; she is isolated and receiving treatment. Africa CDC said both patients passed through Entebbe on Oct. 3. Diana Atwine said CCTV review showed no physical interaction between them. Genomic sequencing shows the Nigerian case closely related to the Kenyan strain; Nigerian authorities say there is no evidence of a direct transmission link. All 60 contacts of the Kenyan index case completed monitoring and were released. Switzerland's foreign ministry told AP the woman, married to a Swiss diplomat, had not visited Congo and is believed to have contracted Ebola while traveling to Uganda. Baryomunsi called that "speaking prematurely," said she has relatives in Uganda and Congo and holds two passports including a Ugandan one, and asked: "What evidence do they have that she never travelled there? We should speak science, not politics." Uganda says it is reviewing genomics, travel, and movements with Nigerian authorities and partners; where she contracted the virus remains unresolved.