CNN
—
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has declared a direct three-week lockdown in two excessive threat districts because the nation battles an increase in Ebola infections.
All motion out and in of the Mubende and Kassanda districts shall be halted, Museveni stated in a televised tackle on Saturday – though cargo vans shall be allowed to enter and depart the areas.
Curfews may also be imposed. Places of worship, bars, gyms, saunas and different leisure venues will shut however faculties will stay open, he added.
“Given the gravity of the problem and to prevent further spread and protect lives and livelihoods, the government is taking extra measures that require action from all of us,” Museveni stated.
The Ugandan well being ministry may also improve contact tracing and help to native well being services.
Ebola is a uncommon however lethal illness. It spreads by way of direct contact with physique fluids and isn’t transmitted by way of airborne viral particles, the the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.
It has no treatment, and there’s no authorized vaccine, though there’s a concerted effort to create one.
Speaking at a media briefing earlier this month, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated the vaccines used efficiently to curb current Ebola outbreaks within the Democratic Republic of the Congo will not be efficient towards the kind of Ebola virus now circulating in Uganda.
“However, several vaccines are in various stages of development against this virus, two of which could begin clinical trials in Uganda in the coming weeks, pending regulatory and ethics approvals from the Ugandan government,” stated Tedros.
Uganda has skilled 4 Ebola outbreaks. The deadliest left greater than 200 individuals useless in 2000.
Museveni declared an Ebola outbreak in September after a case of the comparatively uncommon Sudan pressure was confirmed and instances started to rise throughout districts.
The newest outbreak has up to now killed 29 amid 63 recorded instances.
According to the CDC, an individual contaminated with Ebola “is not contagious until symptoms appear (including fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal symptoms, and unexplained bleeding).”
The virus spreads by way of direct contact with physique fluids and isn’t transmitted by way of airborne viral particles, the CDC says.