Follow-Up: Uganda Tightens Ebola Controls: Transit Ban for Travellers with DR Congo History, 21-Day Self-Paid Quarantine for Returnees
Uganda's Ministry of Health has stepped up Ebola controls after a woman who travelled via Uganda was confirmed in Nigeria on October 20 to be infected with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus. The ministry announced three hard measures: travellers with a history of travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) may not transit through Uganda; returnees with a DRC travel history must undergo 21 days of quarantine at their own expense; and traveller locator forms have been reinstated for all arrivals to support follow-up and contact tracing. Chinese diplomatic missions in the region have issued reminders urging Chinese citizens not to travel to the affected high-risk areas.
In an October 23 statement signed by Director General of Health Services Prof. Charles Olaro, the ministry said the traveller showed no symptoms when she departed Uganda, and that investigations continue into when her symptoms began and how she was infected. Uganda is working with Nigerian counterparts to establish her full travel history, movements and possible contacts, and has requested detailed travel records and genomic sequencing results from Nigeria. The ministry stressed that Uganda itself remains free of Ebola: the World Health Organization declared the country's previous outbreak over in August.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi detailed the measures at an October 25 press briefing: screening has been intensified at Entebbe International Airport and all land border crossings, supported by designated road checkpoints; entry from the DRC is limited to essential travel categories; infection prevention and control has been reinforced at points of entry and health facilities, with nationwide surveillance continuing. The ministry warned that breaches of public health requirements will be enforced under the Public Health Act, that people entering through unauthorised routes will be referred to the relevant authorities, and that illegally assisting others to enter the country to evade screening will be severely punished.
The measures come against the backdrop of the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak that began in the DRC in May, which the WHO has designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. There is still no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain. Since October, Kenya and Nigeria have both reported imported cases linked to travel through Uganda, and the source of infection remains under multinational investigation.
For Chinese travellers planning trips to Uganda and neighbouring countries, the practical impact is threefold. First, anyone with a recent DRC travel history cannot currently transit through Uganda, so itineraries connecting through Entebbe should be checked and rerouted if necessary. Second, all arrivals must again complete traveller locator forms and undergo screening at airports and land borders, so allow extra time for entry procedures. Third, travellers arriving with a DRC travel history may face 21 days of quarantine at their own expense; trips to Ebola-affected areas of the DRC and the Uganda-DRC border region should be postponed, and travellers should keep monitoring announcements from Uganda's Ministry of Health.
Related: Africa CDC sends top scientists to Nigeria to trace the source of the Ebola case
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：乌干达卫生部官员在坎帕拉向媒体通报全国埃博拉防范与应对进展，卫生部长 Chris Baryomunsi（前排中）与美国疾控中心驻乌干达代表、世卫组织代表等出席。图片来源：乌干达卫生部官网。Photo: Uganda's Minister of Health Chris Baryomunsi (front, centre) and health officials, joined by the U.S. CDC Country Director and a WHO representative, after briefing the media on national Ebola preparedness and response efforts in Kampala. Source: Ministry of Health, Uganda.
- 2026-08-26China's Foreign Ministry Vows Ebola Aid to DR Congo Three Times: Medical Teams Reach Kinshasa as Embassy Orders Gold Miners to Register and Eastern Citizens to Leave
- 2026-10-07Congo Ebola Outbreak Spreads: Kenya Confirms First Case as U.S. Leans on Travel Curbs
- 2026-10-16Clashes Rage and Ebola Cases Top 9,000 in Eastern DR Congo, Putting Chinese Residents at Risk
- 2026-10-17Follow-Up: Kenya Confirms Four New Ebola Cases, Bringing Total to Seven Including Three Health Workers
- 2026-10-18Kenya Health Ministry Rules Out Ebola Lockdown, Says Country 'Remains Open' as WHO Backs No Travel or Trade Restrictions
- 2026-10-18Congo Confirms Ebola Spread to Eighth Province as North Ubangi Records Two Cases Including One Death
- 2026-10-19Kenya Confirms Eighth Ebola Case: Health Director-General Says Latest Patient Is a 49-Year-Old Attendant Who Fell Ill Saturday and Tested Positive Sunday
- 2026-10-21Follow-Up: Nigeria Confirms First Imported Ebola Case in Over a Decade; Patient Arrived From Uganda, 44 Contacts Monitored
- 2026-10-22CDC: From November 3, All U.S.-Bound Air Passengers Must Attest They Have Not Been in DR Congo in the Prior 21 Days
- 2026-10-23Nigeria's Ebola Patient Identified as Swiss Diplomat's Wife Who Had Traveled to Uganda
- 2026-10-24Follow-Up: WHO Launches Ebola Vaccine Trial in DR Congo as Kenya Records Second Death
- 2026-10-26Follow-Up: Africa CDC Sends Leading Ebola Scientists to Nigeria to Trace a Case's Origin: Patient Never Visited Congo and May Have Crossed Paths With the Kenya Case at Entebbe Airport
- 2026-10-26Regeneron Extends BARDA Agreement for Additional Supply of Ebola Treatment Inmazeb: About $270 Million Through 2031
- 2026-10-26Follow-Up: U.S.-Bound '21-Day Attestation' Takes Effect November 3: Most Travelers Just Sign, Three Groups Must Change Plans
- 2026-10-27Follow-Up: Uganda Tightens Ebola Controls: Transit Ban for Travellers with DR Congo History, 21-Day Self-Paid Quarantine for ReturneesThis story
- 2026-10-28Follow-Up: WHO Clarifies It Has Not Declared Nigeria Ebola-Free After Index Patient's Evacuation to Switzerland
- 2026-10-28Follow-Up: DR Congo Ebola Cases Pass 10,060 With 4,887 Deaths, the Country's Deadliest Outbreak on Record
- 2026-10-29Follow-Up: CDC Amends Flight Attestation Order to Cover Crew Members; Nov. 3 Start Date Unchanged
- 2026-10-30Follow-Up: DR Congo Ebola Cases Reach 10,274 With 4,992 Deaths as Chinese Citizens Are Told to Leave Four High-Risk Provinces
- 2026-10-31Follow-Up: Congo Ebola Deaths Top 5,000, With 10,351 Infected and a Third of the Dead Never Reached Care
