Ugandan authorities ordered the closure of the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo with immediate effect on Wednesday to contain an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola. Senior health official Diana Atwine announced that the border would be closed for four weeks to limit the spread of the disease.
The decision was made by a local Ebola task force led by Vice President Jesca Alupo after a rise in Ugandan health workers were exposed to Ebola by Congolese patients who crossed the border before the outbreak was declared on May 15. Dr. Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, stated that the number of locals exposed via health workers has been increasing because those workers have families.
Uganda has reported seven cases of Ebola, including a 59-year-old man who died in the capital, Kampala, on May 14. In eastern Congo, the number of suspected cases is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths. The border shutdown was implemented despite warnings by the WHO that the move could backfire and cause the disease to spread.
Travel across the Congo border will now be authorized only for emergency cases, including cargo, security reasons, or the outbreak response. Ebola response teams and a few others are exempt from the closure and will undergo strict health screening.