WHO declares Ebola a global health emergency

New cases confirmed over the weekend

Over the weekend, Uganda reported three new confirmed cases of Ebola, bringing the total number of people in Uganda who have tested positive to five. The new cases are:

• A Ugandan health worker, a healthcare professional who cared for the first Ebola case that entered the country.
• A driver who transported the first patient in Uganda.
• A Congolese national, who travelled from Ituri Province in the DRC to Uganda to seek medical care.

Sadly, the first patient passed away last week. However, the second patient has now tested negative, an encouraging sign. The remaining three patients are currently hospitalised and receiving medical attention and care.

These new cases are consistent with the pattern of close contact transmission, a health worker and a driver, both of whom had direct physical contact with the first Ebola case in the country.  This reflects how Ebola spreads, and underscores why Uganda’s contact tracing and isolation protocols are so critical right now.

Life on the ground in Uganda

From our partners and contacts on the ground, day-to-day life in Uganda continues. Businesses remain open, operations are running, and people are going about their lives, albeit with a heightened awareness of safety. Social distancing, handwashing, and infection-prevention protocols are being observed and are now simply part of the routine. Uganda is not in lockdown, and there is no sense of widespread panic. The country has navigated health crises before, and the response from authorities has been measured and professional.

Broader picture: the DRC outbreak

The numbers coming out of the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to rise, with over 900 suspected cases now reported across Ituri Province and into North Kivu and South Kivu. While these figures sound alarming, there is an important and encouraging story behind them: they are, in large part, a direct result of a public health campaign actively encouraging people to come forward for free medical care if they are experiencing symptoms. This is exactly what health authorities hoped for (and anticipated). People seeking help means people getting treatment, and it means the outbreak is being mapped, monitored, and managed, rather than spreading silently in communities. The rising numbers reflect a health system doing its job, and that is genuinely good news.

What we are doing

We remain in close daily contact with our ground partners in the DRC and Uganda and are continuing to triage guests by departure date, with those travelling soonest receiving our most immediate attention. We are working on a case-by-case basis and will be reaching out directly to affected guests.

We will continue to update this page as the situation evolves. If you have any questions or concerns about your booking, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us directly.