Uganda tightens Ebola border controls and requires returnees from Congo
to pay for quarantine
[October 26, 2026]
By PATRICK ONEN
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda is reinforcing border controls to stop the
spread of the deadly Ebola virus and now requires citizens returning
from neighboring Congo to spend 21 days in quarantine at their own
expense, the Health Ministry said Sunday, as investigators examine how a
woman who traveled from Uganda to Nigeria contracted the disease.
The outbreak in Congo has killed thousands, but Uganda has recorded no
confirmed cases since declaring its outbreak over on July 28. It first
established border controls in May, restricting all but essential
travelers, including humanitarian workers and truck drivers, subject to
screening.
Travelers with a history of travel to Congo cannot transit through
Uganda, including on chartered flights.
Under the new measures announced Sunday, nonessential Congolese
travelers will be returned through the nearest border crossing at their
own expense, while those entering illegally face prosecution, the
Ugandan ministry said.
Screening has intensified at Entebbe International Airport and land
borders. All arrivals must complete a passenger locator form and undergo
health screening, including diplomats and United Nations personnel.
Asked about reports that Nigeria’s first Ebola patient had not visited
Congo, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said Ugandan investigators had
not established whether she traveled there. He said she had relatives in
Uganda and Congo and held two passports, one of them Ugandan. He did not
identify the second issuing country.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry told The Associated Press on Friday that
the woman, married to a Swiss diplomat in Nigeria, had not visited Congo
and was believed to have contracted Ebola while traveling to Uganda.
Baryomunsi said Nigerian authorities had not provided all the
information Uganda needed. Investigators are working with Nigeria and
international partners to review genomic findings and verify her
movements and interactions in Uganda and en route to Abuja. Findings
will be released later, Baryomunsi said.
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A health worker checks an individual's temperature at a temporary
health clinic at the Mpondwe border crossing linking Uganda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hajarah
Nalwadda, File)
 Nigeria’s Health Minister Muhammad
Pate said Friday that the woman's infection appeared closely related
to Kenya’s first case, while cautioning that this did not
necessarily establish the transmission route.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention previously said both patients passed through Entebbe
airport on Oct. 3. Where the Nigerian patient contracted Ebola
remains unresolved.
Uganda also said all 60 contacts of Kenya’s first patient, including
border personnel, hotel staff and transport operators, completed 21
days of monitoring without symptoms and were released from
follow-up.
The patient, a 40-year-old Kenyan man living in Congo, traveled
through Uganda and arrived in Kenya Oct. 3. He tested positive and
died Oct. 5. Eight contacts subsequently tested positive; a
65-year-old close relative died Friday, bringing Kenya’s death toll
to two.
Uganda said it had deployed Ebola experts to Congo to help contain
the Bundibugyo Ebola strain.
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