Uganda clears 60 contacts of Kenyan Ebola traveller but keeps DRC border shut to all but truckers and aid workers

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Uganda has discharged all 60 people it was monitoring after contact with a Kenyan traveller who had Ebola virus disease, but it is keeping tight limits on movement across its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where transmission continues.

In a statement dated October 25, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the contacts included staff at points of entry and exit, workers at the hotels the traveller used and transport operators involved in the traveller’s movements. All completed their 21-day monitoring “without developing signs or symptoms consistent with the disease,” he said.

“I would like to re-emphasise to all Ugandans and the International Community that as of today, 25th, October, 2026, Uganda remains Ebola-free,” the minister said. The ministry shared the full statement on X on Sunday evening.

Only essential travellers at the DRC border

The measures most relevant to business are at the border. Movement along the Uganda-DRC border remains restricted to essential travellers, “including humanitarian workers and truck drivers,” under resolutions of Uganda’s National Task Force from May 2026. The minister cautioned humanitarian workers and truck drivers “against abusing this movement.”

Non-essential travellers who are DRC nationals will be returned through the nearest point of entry at their own cost. Ugandans returning from the DRC must go through 21 days of quarantine, also at their own cost. Travellers with a history of travel to the DRC are not allowed to transit through Uganda “by any means of transport, including chartered flights,” and the ministry appealed to airlines and travel operators not to help such travellers enter or transit the country.

All travellers entering Uganda by air, land or water must fill in a Passenger Locator Form and go through Port Health screening, with no exemptions for diplomats or United Nations staff. At Entebbe International Airport, baggage trays must be disinfected at all times and passengers must sanitise before and after handing over their passports at check-in and immigration.

The ministry said it is also working with the tourism sector to reinforce hygiene in hotels “alongside proper guest registration to support public health follow-up when necessary.” Anyone listed as a contact of an active case will be placed on a no-fly list until they complete 21 days of follow-up.

Kenya: no trade restrictions

In Nairobi, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said on Sunday that Kenya has not limited movement or commerce. “Kenya has no travel, trade or tourism restrictions. The World Health Organization advises against closing borders or imposing restrictions,” the Ministry of Health quoted him as saying in a television interview.

Mr Duale said Kenya’s Ebola-free status will be determined after 42 days, in line with the World Health Organization’s timeline, and that more than 4,900 health workers had been trained on Ebola.

Uganda’s work inside the DRC

Uganda said it has set up three treatment units in the DRC, at Aru, Kasenyi and Butembo, with 240 beds, and a fourth at Bulongo was due to open this week to reduce the need for patients to cross into Uganda. More than 120 Ugandan personnel have been deployed. The three units have treated 127 confirmed patients, with death rates of between 15 and 17.7 percent, compared with what the statement described as a reported national figure of 48.2 percent in the DRC.

The minister said mobile laboratories at the three sites have cut the time to return results from four to five days to about four to six hours, with capacity for up to 2,200 tests a day. Uganda has also signed a memorandum of understanding with South Sudan, sent technical teams to the Central African Republic and is working with Rwanda on preparedness.

For Kenyan transporters and travellers, the statement means locator forms and screening at every Ugandan entry point, while truck drivers stay on the list of essential travellers allowed across the Uganda-DRC border. Importers in Kenya face a separate change from November 1, when KRA will require digital marine cargo insurance before clearance.