Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has assured that the Ebola outbreak declared on September 20 is under control and urged international tourists not to cancel their scheduled winter travel.
«I have been informed that some tourists have cancelled their trips to Uganda, postponed their hotel bookings and some international conferences (have been) cancelled. It is untimely and unnecessary,» he explained at a press conference on Tuesday, as picked up by local media on Wednesday.
Museveni explained that the Ugandan government has put in place various measures to control the outbreak, which is present in only six of the country’s 146 districts, and has ruled out nationwide containment.
«Uganda remains safe and we welcome international tourists,» the Ugandan president said, adding that they are monitoring the positives very strictly so that the outbreak is not exported to other countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that it expects the first doses of the vaccine to arrive in the country next week. In addition, a group of experts have evaluated at least three possible vaccines against Ebola, according to the WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a press conference.
According to WHO, the total number of confirmed positives stands at 141, with 22 probable cases. Two Ebola deaths and one probable death have also been confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed and 22 probable deaths from the disease to 55. It has also confirmed that 73 patients have recovered.
«The government’s efforts to respond to the outbreak have curbed transmission in most districts, and two districts have not reported any cases for 42 days, indicating that the virus is no longer present in those,» he stressed, adding that nine districts are affected.
