Uganda has closed its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as authorities move to contain a growing Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, where suspected cases are approaching 1,000 amid heightened regional transmission fears.
The closure was announced by Uganda’s National Task Force on Ebola Response, which said the decision was driven by increasing concerns over cross-border spread of the virus between the two neighbouring countries, which share extensive border communities and busy trade corridors across East and Central Africa.
The development comes less than two weeks after Uganda recorded its first Ebola case linked to the current outbreak. The case involved a Congolese national who crossed into Uganda in search of medical treatment.
Authorities confirmed that the patient later died on May 14 in intensive care in Kampala after developing severe haemorrhagic symptoms consistent with Ebola infection.
Following the new restrictions, Ugandan authorities said movement across the border will now be strictly limited. Only authorised Ebola response personnel, humanitarian workers, cargo and food transport operators, as well as security officials, will be allowed to cross between both countries.
Health officials say the tightened border measures are part of broader efforts to prevent further importation of cases as surveillance and response operations intensify in affected areas of eastern DRC, where infections continue to rise.
Boluwatife Enome
