During his televised address to the nation on Ebola outbreak on Tuesday evening, the president said government has put in place measures to control the spread of the disease that is currently reported in six out of the 146 districts in Uganda.
Below is his full speech;
Fellow Countrymen, Countrywomen and Residents in Uganda,
I am back to talk to you about Ebola and this is the fourth time. I
last talked to you on 15th October 2022 when I issued restrictions
on movements into and out of Mubende and Kasanda Districts
which are the areas where this Ebola outbreak started. I am
informed by the Ministry of Health that Ebola has since then spread
to other districts notably Masaka and Jinja . We now have cases of
Ebola in six districts (Mubende, Kasanda, Kampala City, Wakiso,
Masaka and Jinja.) Bunyangabu and Kagadi districts have been
dropped from the follow up list because they have completed 42
days, which is 2 incubation cycles of the virus, without a case.
As of today, there are a total of 141 confirmed cases of Ebola, 55 of
these have died while 73 have recovered and 13 are admitted at
the Ebola Treatment Units(ETUs).
MUBENDE DISTRICT
Before we imposed restrictions on Mubende District whose
objective was to control transmission out of the epicenter and
specifically into Kampala City and consolidate efforts to contain the
outbreak, on average, up to five cases of Ebola were confirmed on
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a daily basis. However, in the first 21 days of restrictions, I have
been told that the number of cases reduced to an average of 3 cases
per day. This was because of intensifying control interventions
which included; door to door sensitization of the communities by
the Village Health Teams, training of the health workers on
Infection Prevention Control in both public and private health
facilities, safe dignified burials of all deceased in the communities
and hospitals and early treatment of cases at the Ebola Treatment
Units.
Our efforts are beginning to pay off as we have seen a decline in in
the number of cases in Mubende. For example, for 18 days, we did
not get a case until yesterday when we got one case. I want to thank
the people of Mubende for their determination to end this
epidemic and congratulate them upon the good work they are
doing. However, the outbreak is not yet over and you need to put
in more effort.
I have been informed that there is a challenge in Mubende;
Whereas we later allowed boda boda to carry cargo to support
families, they have abused this permission and are carrying out a
passenger relay system to transport people instead of cargo. This
poses a risk of transfer of infection to other districts. With the help
of boda bodas, people are escaping through Kyaka II refugee camp
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and end up in facilities in Kampala City and other districts.
Recently, a pregnant woman travelled through Kyaka II and ended
up in Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital where she was delivered
by Cesarean Section and is still under quarantine. Furthermore,
another woman was transported through the same mechanism up
to Kireka on the outskirts of Kampala City with the pretext of going
to pick her HIV medicines which are widely available everywhere.
This is not acceptable because Ebola infection will be exported out
of the district. Any urgent health issues must be communicated to
the health authorities to handle within the district.
KASANDA DISTRICT
While progress has been made in Mubende district, this is not true
for Kasanda district. During the first 21 days of restriction of
movement, there was an explosion of over 41 cases within 5 days
and 10 deaths arising out of exhuming a dead Ebola body,
congregations in Bibanda and playing pool in Kikandwa Parish.
However, the cases have now reduced during the second 21 days
restriction to 1-2 cases per day. Progress in Kasanda has been slow
because of lack of cooperation among some district political
leaders, poor adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures
(SOPs), myths and misconceptions, and visiting traditional healers.
Kasanda District has four major challenges. These are;
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1. The passenger relay system by boda bodas similar to what
is happening in Mubende.
2. Frequent visits to traditional healers
3. Myths, misconceptions and misinformation
4. Escape of Ebola contacts using the trucks carrying timber
logs which also exposes the driver and turn boy to
infection. Additionally, these trucks spend nearly one week
in Kasanda loading the logs. This is adequate time for the
driver and turn boy to have contact with the communities
and get infected. For example, a driver of a timber truck left
Kasanda with infection and was found in Busega in
Kampala City.
To address these risks in Mubende and Kasanda, I now direct as
follows;
1. Ministry of Health and Local Government leaders should
intensify sensitization of the boda bodas so that they
understand the dangers of exporting Ebola through the
refugee camp.
2. I once again repeat that all traditional healers and witch
doctors are prohibited from carrying out their activities
during this Ebola outbreak
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3. All boda boda MUST stop the practice of passenger relay
system immediately. Should they continue, I will stop their
movement with or without cargo.
4. All trucks carrying logs are prohibited from movement into
and out of Mubende and Kasanda districts with immediate
effect until the end of the 21 days.
GREATER KAMPALA METROPOLITAN AREA
Confirmed cases have been reported in the districts of Wakiso and
Kampala City as a result of imported cases from Kasanda and
Mubende. Currently, the number of cases in Greater Kampala
are as follows; Kawempe Division – 3, Makindye Division – 1,
Rubaga Division- 14, and Wakiso District – 2.
The Greater Kampala region is a heavily populated area that
presents challenges in contact tracing, follow up and home
quarantine; and because of this, identified contacts MUST be put
under institutional quarantine.
However, I have been informed that some contacts escaped and
found their way to Masaka and Jinja. Both of them have since died
of Ebola. A pregnant woman linked to the initial Kasanda case that
brought infection to Kampala was called by her mother to seek
health care in Masaka. The mother then took her to Masaka
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Regional Referral Hospital where the health workers suspected
Ebola and isolated her. She tested positive and unfortunately
passed on before delivery. Ninety Seven (97) contacts linked to this
pregnant woman have been listed and are under follow up.
Furthermore, I am informed that another contact linked to the
Rubaga cluster travelled to Jinja District where he visited two
private clinics before he succumbed after infecting his brother. The
brother subsequently died and was confirmed for Ebola after death
through samples removed by health workers from a private clinic,
St. Catherine Medical Center. We have since then confirmed Ebola
in another relative bringing the total number to 3 in this family.
Two hundred and forty five (245) contacts have been listed in Jinja
District, 5 of these developed symptoms and have been evacuated
to Entebbe National Isolation Facility.
The above scenario shows that the population and health workers
in Kampala and the entire country have not yet properly
understood the dangers of Ebola and how it is spread.
Ebola is easy to manage if all people cooperate and follow guidance
of the health workers. Ebola is spread by contaminated clothing,
beddings, surfaces, and body fluids such as saliva, vomitus,
sweat, stool, blood and semen of sick people. The main entry
points are the mouth, eyes and broken skin especially of the hands.
This is why it is important to always wash hands with soap and
water or use an alcohol based sanitizer or chlorine solution.
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Therefore, if you have had contact or been in an area where there
are cases of Ebola and you are not sure whether you are a contact
or not, DO NOT RUN AWAY. STAY IN YOUR HOME AND CALL
THE HEALTH WORKERS IF YOU ARE SICK. When you run away,
you lose time, get more sick and die. In addition, you spread the
disease to your loved ones and other Local Governments like we
have seen with the case in Jinja District. This stretches the health
system and is expensive to control.
TOURISM
I have been informed that tourists have been canceling their trips
to Uganda and some have even postponed their bookings in hotels
and lodges due to the Ebola outbreak. Furthermore, international
conferences and meetings have been postponed and some moved
to other countries due to the Ebola outbreak. This is most
unfortunate.
I would like to reassure the international community, tourists and
conference organizers and the entire Ugandan population, that
Government has put in place measures to control the outbreak. The
Ebola outbreak is localized to only 6 out of the 146 districts.
Uganda remains safe and we welcome international guests.
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Government is doing all it takes to control this epidemic and avoid
exportation outside Uganda. In this regard, the list of Ebola
contacts has been availed to the Immigration Authorities to
prevent them from international travel. In addition, there is
screening at the airport and land border points of entry for
temperature, symptoms and history of contact.
I appeal to you to observe the above measures.
I thank you.
For God and my Country
Gen. (Rtd) Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
PRESIDENT
15th November, 2022
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