EBOLA: Museveni puts Kampala on high alert after two cases escape from Mubende

KAMPALA, UGANDA: President Museveni has directed relevant health authorities in Kampala to fully mobilize the city after confirmation that two Ebola cases escaped from Mubende last week.

The President in a Monday tweet said one of the two patients died last week at Kiruddu Hospital while the other, the man’s wife, tested positive in Kitebi Health Centre IV in Kampala and has been isolated in Entebbe with her baby.

“For Kampala City, while the two cases that tested positive came from Mubende District and are regarded as Mubende cases, because of the presence of contacts of these two cases and the risks of infection, I have directed a full mobilization of Kampala City into a response mode,” Museveni said in a tweet on Monday, October 17.

It should be noted that in his address last Saturday, the President ordered Mubende and Kassanda districts to undergo a curfew that will last 21 days to prevent the spread of the disease. He prohibited movements into and out of the districts, and the curfew runs from 7 pm to 6 am.

In addition to this directive, Museveni has now ordered the Ebola response team from the Ministry of Health to cover the entire Kampala Metropolitan area.

Ebola Virus Disease has already been confirmed in at least five districts, infecting 58 and killing 19, according to the statistics from the Health Ministry. Up to 20 people have also recovered from the disease. According to the Health ministry, at least 42 contacts of the cases in Kampala have been listed and 10 quarantined.

The epidemic is coming at a time when the country is struggling to recover from the effects of Covid-19 on the economy, where the tourism sector was one of the most affected. Many tourists were reported to have cancelled their flights for fear of contracting the disease.

Mr Museveni said they decided to impose the lockdown in the two districts because the people in the Ebola epicentre were not playing their role in preventing the spread of the disease.

“This is a very violent disease once it gets into your body but it is very easy to avoid. But there are some people who cannot be advised. There are some people [Ebola patients] who were difficult, lying to us, hijacking dead bodies and moving from district to district, including coming to Kampala. This movement and deceit has not changed and this increases the risk of spreading the disease to other parts of the country,” the President said.

He added: “Given the gravity of the problem and to prevent further spread and, protect lives and livelihoods, the government is taking extra measures that require action from all of us. All these measures shall start with immediate effect and will last 21 days because the incubation period for Ebola is up to 21 days.”