Uganda shortens school term by two weeks to curb Ebola
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 [November 08, 2022]
By Elias Biryabarema
KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda will shorten the
school term by two weeks to reduce daily contact amongst students and
help curb the spread of Ebola, the education minister said on Tuesday.
Authorities have been struggling to contain the highly infectious and
deadly haemorrhagic fever since the epidemic spilled into the capital
Kampala, home to around two million people.
As of Monday, the country had recorded a total of 135 confirmed cases
and 53 deaths, according to the health ministry.
Education minister Janet Kataha Museveni said cabinet had taken a
decision to close pre-schools, primary schools and secondary schools on
Nov. 25, because densely packed classrooms made students highly
vulnerable to infection.
"Closing schools earlier will reduce areas of concentration where
children are in daily close contact with fellow children, teachers and
other staff who could potentially spread the virus," Museveni said in a
statement.
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A person dressed in Ebola protective
apparel is seen inside an Ebola care facility at the Bwera general
hospital near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in
Bwera, Uganda, June 14, 2019. REUTERS/James Akena?/File Photo
 Students in Uganda are currently in
their third and final term for the calendar year, at the end of
which they sit promotional exams.
Among children, 23 cases have been confirmed, of which eight have
died, said Museveni, who is the president's wife.
The virus circulating in Uganda is the Sudan strain of Ebola, for
which there is no proven vaccine, unlike the more common Zaire
strain that spread during recent outbreaks in neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ebola generally kills about half of the people it infects.
(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hereward Holland and
Angus MacSwan)
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