UGANDA: Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, has extended a quarantine on two districts by 21 days, saying that the conditions in those areas are still “fragile.”
Until December 17, the epicentre of the Nations’ ebola outbreak, Mubende and Kassanda districts will be restricted for movement into and out of the districts, as Museveni announced late Saturday.
On October 15, it was imposed for 21 days, and then on November 5, it was extended for the same time frame.
The extension’s purpose was “to further sustain the Ebola containment progress we have made and to safeguard the rest of the nation from further exposure.”
A disease outbreak ends in accordance with WHO standards when there are no additional cases for 42 days in a row, which is twice the length of the Ebola incubation period.
In an interview last week, Uganda’s health minister, Jane Ruth Aceng, said there are indications that the country is “winning” the battle because fewer new cases are being reported.
As of November 22, no new infections had been reported for 12 days in Kassanda, ten days in Mubende, or 12 days in Kampala, respectively, as per the WHO headquarters in Uganda.
He stated in a statement that while it might be too soon to celebrate any successes, “Overall, I have been briefed that the picture is good.”
In the nation of East Africa, 141 infections have so far been documented. Fifty-five people have perished since the pandemic of severe hemorrhagic fever was declared on September 20.
Despite the outbreak being gradually controlled, Museveni stated that the country’s poor healthcare system and the spreading of false information about the disease remained challenging.
Ebola, a disease that spreads through bodily fluids, has common signs of illness, including fever, nausea, bleeding, and diarrhea.
Outbreaks are challenging to control, especially in metropolitan areas.
The Ebola virus that is presently circulating in Uganda is the Sudan strain, for which there is no confirmed vaccine, contrary to the more common Zaire strain, which spread through recent outbreaks in the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Also Read: Uganda Declares Ebola Outbreak Following Discovery of Sudan Strain
