Ugandan authorities order the immediate closure of the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid a surge in cases of a rare type of Ebola. Multiple outlets report that the decision is aimed at curbing cross-border transmission as the outbreak continues to spread in DR Congo. CBC and other coverage says the closure takes effect immediately and includes provisions for exemptions. The New York Times reports that some Ebola response personnel and other limited categories are not fully barred but instead undergo strict health screening. Stuff.co.nz adds that Uganda’s Ebola task force, led by Vice President Jesca Alupo, makes the decision after Ugandan health workers are exposed to the virus by Congolese patients who crossed the border before the outbreak is formally declared on May 15. Forbes notes the broader context that the outbreak is causing significant deaths and that spread is still ongoing. Across sources, the central points are the rapid border closure announced by Ugandan officials, the stated link to preventing further Ebola transmission, and the involvement of an Ebola-focused task force responding to risks at the border and among health workers.
Uganda closes border with DR Congo over surge in rare Ebola cases
Ugandan authorities order the immediate closure of the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo amid a surge in cases of a rare type of Ebola. Multiple outlets report that the decision is aime...
- Uganda orders an immediate closure of its border with DR Congo due to a surge in rare Ebola cases.
- Ugandan officials state the measure is intended to help curb the outbreak’s spread across the border.
- Some categories, including Ebola response personnel, are exempt but must undergo strict health screening.
- A Ugandan Ebola task force led by Vice President Jesca Alupo makes the decision after exposures of Ugandan health workers linked to Congolese patients crossing before the outbreak was declared on May 15.
- Outlets report the DR Congo outbreak continues with substantial fatalities and no clear sign it is slowing.
The decision by the Ugandan Ebola task force, which goes against World Health Organization guidance, follows a rise in health workers exposed to Ebola by Congolese patients who crossed before the outbreak was declared.
1 week agoThe World Health Organization has advised against countries closing their borders despite the risk to neighbouring nations
1 week agoThe measure, which goes against the guidance by the World Health Organization, underscores growing fears of contagion in East Africa from Bundibugyo, a rare type of the Ebola virus that is behind this outbreak
1 week agoUganda has closed its border with neighbouring DR Congo for four weeks in an effort to contain an Ebola outbreak.
1 week agoKAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda on Wednesday ordered the closure of its border with Congo, where suspected cases of a rare type of Ebola are surging, and as cases have been confirmed at home after Ugandan health workers were exposed to the disease from Congolese patients. The measure, which goes against the guidance by the World Health Organization, underscores growing fears of contagion in East Africa from Bundibugyo, a rare type of the Ebola virus that is behind this outbreak and that has no approved medicines or vaccines. Like Congo, Uganda has faced Ebola outbreaks in the past. A local Ugandan task force made the decision on the border closure. The Ugandan health workers were exposed to the virus by Congolese patients who had crossed the border before the outbreak was declared in eastern Congo on May 15. The border closure was temporary, with “immediate effect,” Dr. Diana Atwine of the Ugandan Ministry of Health, told journalists. Border crossings will be authorized only in emergency cases, including for the outbreak response, humanitarian, cargo or security reasons, she added. Anyone
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