Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has declared that there is no plan to impose restrictions in Ebola-prone areas in the central region because the viral disease is not airborne.
At least 24 persons have been infected by the virus in the country, five of whom have died, since the outbreak was declared last week.
Ebola spreads through contact with infected persons or infected surfaces and human faeces. Medical workers in the country had previously urged government for the affected region to be put under quarantine to stop further spread of the haemorrhagic fever.
Museveni said his government had the capacity to control the epidemic due to previous experience with similar outbreaks. This is the fourth time Ebola has broken out in Uganda.
He said that health experts who had previously dealt with Ebola outbreaks had been deployed to the affected region.
Government intends to set up a laboratory at Mubende district headquarters, the epicentre of the outbreak, to quicken the sample processing time.
Six medical workers who treated the 24-year-old man who was later identified as the first case, have tested positive for Ebola.
