Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday gave an assurance to foreign visitors that the Ebola outbreak in the country was under control, reported The BBC.
In a nationalised address on Tuesday, the president pointed out that foreign tourists were cancelling their visit to Uganda and international conferences were being cancelled or moved to other countries due to the Ebola threat.
He said the Ebola cases have been limited to only six out of 146 districts.
“Uganda is safe and international guests are welcome,” the Ugandan president added.
He said that a list of people exposed to Ebola virus had been given to immigration authorities to prevent them from international travel.
The Ugandan government has declared the outbreak in September and some 141 cases and 55 deaths have been recorded so far. The president said that progress had been made in controlling the epidemic.
According to health officials, there had been no confirmed cases in Mubende district, the epicentre of the outbreak, for 18 days, although one case was reported on Monday.
Mr Museveni said that efforts to control the epidemic were being hampered as some people are not adhering to health restrictions.
10 members of an extended family died of Ebola in Kassanda district. In Kampala, two contacts linked to separate cases escaped from facilities and both have since died.
Even though the epidemic has spread to districts far from the outbreak epicentre region, Ugandan officials are confident that they can control the outbreak before it spreads.
Earlier this month, the government extended a three-week lockdown in Mubende and Kassanda districts. The measures include a dusk-to-dawn curfew, closure of markets, bars and churches, and a ban on personal travel.
Last week, the government announced closure of schools nationwide from November 25, two weeks before the scheduled end of term, after 23 Ebola cases were confirmed among students, including eight children who died.
