Uganda Orders Three-week Quarantine for Congo Returnees
WHO:
BBC News - Uganda is imposing quarantine requirements on citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).
ABC News - Uganda’s Health Ministry announced the measures; Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi described the investigation into Nigeria’s first Ebola patient.
ABC News - Nigerian Health Minister Muhammad Pate said the woman’s infection appeared closely related to Kenya’s first Ebola case, while cautioning that this did not establish the route of transmission.
ABC News - The woman had relatives in Uganda and Congo and held two passports, one Ugandan; Baryomunsi did not identify the country that issued her other passport.
ABC News - Switzerland’s foreign ministry said the woman, who was married to a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, had not visited Congo and was believed to have contracted Ebola while traveling to Uganda.
ABC News - The Kenyan patient was a 40-year-old man living in Congo. Eight of his contacts later tested positive; a 65-year-old close relative died, bringing Kenya’s death toll to two.
WHAT:
BBC News - Uganda will not allow most travelers who have been in DR Congo to transit through the country.
ABC News - Ugandan citizens returning from Congo must quarantine for 21 days at their own expense.
ABC News - Nonessential Congolese travelers will be returned through the nearest border crossing at their own expense; people entering Uganda illegally face prosecution.
ABC News - All 60 contacts of Kenya’s first Ebola patient completed 21 days of monitoring without symptoms and were released from follow-up.
ABC News - Uganda deployed Ebola experts to Congo to help contain the Bundibugyo Ebola strain.
WHERE:
ABC News - Screening was intensified at Entebbe International Airport and Uganda’s land borders.
ABC News - The Nigerian patient’s movements and interactions in Uganda and on the route to Abuja are under review; where she contracted Ebola remains unresolved.
WHEN:
ABC News - The quarantine period is 21 days.
ABC News - The article reports that the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said both patients passed through Entebbe airport on Oct. 3; the Kenyan patient arrived in Kenya that day and tested positive before dying on Oct. 5.
WHY:
ABC News - Uganda is reinforcing border controls to stop the spread of Ebola.
ABC News - Investigators are working to determine whether the Nigerian patient traveled to Congo and how she contracted Ebola.
HOW:
ABC News - Uganda’s controls restrict nonessential travel, screen arrivals, and require every arrival—including diplomats and United Nations personnel—to complete a passenger locator form and undergo health screening.
ABC News - Travelers with a history of travel to Congo cannot transit through Uganda, including on chartered flights.
ABC News - Investigators are working with Nigeria and international partners to review genomic findings and verify the woman’s movements and interactions. Baryomunsi said Nigerian authorities had not provided all the information Uganda needed.
(UPDATED October 26, 2026 09:14 UTC)
Uganda is tightening border controls to curb Ebola, requiring citizens returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to quarantine for 21 days at their own expense. Most travelers with recent travel to Congo cannot transit through Uganda, while nonessential Congolese travelers will be sent back at their own expense. Uganda is screening arrivals at Entebbe airport and land borders, and requires passengers, including diplomats and United Nations personnel, to complete forms and undergo health checks. The measures come as investigators examine Nigeria’s first Ebola case: a woman with relatives in Uganda and Congo who is believed to have contracted the virus while traveling to Uganda, though the route remains unclear. Nigeria says her infection appears closely related to Kenya’s first case, but that does not establish transmission.