Kampala — Uganda Orders 21-Day Quarantine for DRC Travelers

Uganda's Ministry of Health ordered citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to quarantine for 21 days, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced Sunday at a news conference in Kampala, according to Al Jazeera. Travelers who have been in the DRC will cover the cost of their own quarantine, the ministry said.

The order follows Ebola cases in Kenya and Nigeria that have drawn scrutiny to travelers who passed through Uganda, even though Kampala maintains the country has no active infections of its own.

Why does Uganda say it's Ebola free?

Uganda declared its Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak over on July 28, after recording 20 infections and two deaths, the Health Ministry said. Officials point to that closed outbreak as evidence the country is currently clear of the virus, even as it tightens screening for people arriving from the DRC, where the virus has spread far more widely. The World Health Organization reported 9,704 cases and 4,687 deaths in the DRC outbreak, which began in May, as of October 20.

What's the dispute over the Swiss diplomat's wife?

Swiss authorities believe a Ugandan-born woman married to a Swiss diplomat contracted Ebola during a September visit to Uganda, a conclusion Nigeria's government confirmed on October 20 after diagnosing her infection in Abuja. Baryomunsi pushed back on that timeline at Sunday's briefing. He said relatives who had previously traveled to the DRC had met the woman in a Kampala suburb, and he questioned whether that possible route of exposure had been ruled out.

"We should speak science, not politics," Baryomunsi said.

The WHO said Thursday that the information it had received did not show the woman herself had traveled to the DRC, according to Al Jazeera. Nigerian and Ugandan officials are now investigating her movements to determine where she was infected.

How are Kenya's two Ebola deaths connected?

Investigators are also examining a Kenyan man who traveled from the DRC through Uganda before flying to Nairobi on October 3. He died two days later, and Kenya has since reported a second Ebola death. Both patients passed through Entebbe International Airport on the same day, prompting questions about possible contact.

Ugandan officials said Sunday that security camera footage showed no physical interaction between the two men. Nigerian authorities reported that genetic testing found closely related viruses in the Kenyan and Nigerian cases, but said no direct link between them had been established.

Baryomunsi said 60 people in Uganda who were traced after possible contact with the Kenyan patient completed 21 days of monitoring and have been discharged.

What changes at Uganda's borders and airports?

Beyond the new quarantine rule, Uganda has strengthened checks at Entebbe International Airport and at land border crossings with the DRC. All incoming travelers must now complete forms recording contact information so health officials can reach them if exposure is later confirmed. The measures apply broadly to anyone entering Uganda, not only citizens, though the 21-day self-funded quarantine requirement targets Ugandan nationals returning from the DRC specifically.

What to watch

• Results of the joint Nigerian-Ugandan investigation into the Swiss diplomat's wife's travel history and likely point of infection.
• Whether genetic sequencing ties the Kenyan and Nigerian Ebola cases to a common source despite the lack of a confirmed physical contact.
• Any update from the WHO on whether the DRC outbreak, now linked to cases in three countries, is spreading beyond its current borders.
• Compliance and enforcement data from Uganda's Ministry of Health on the new self-funded, 21-day quarantine for returning travelers.
• Kenya's case count, after officials there said there is no evidence of community spread following its second Ebola death.

The outcome of the Nigerian and Ugandan inquiries will likely shape how neighboring governments calibrate border screening in the weeks ahead, particularly as the DRC's case count continues to climb and cross-border travel through Entebbe remains a focal point for contact tracing.