What is the Status Of Ebola Outbreak in Uganda

There has been a lot of confusion regarding Ebola. The outbreak that happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo saw two individuals from Congo visit Uganda. Both of them got medical attention; unfortunately, one of them passed on. This led to a quarantine of everyone who was traced to have had contact with these two people. One of the quarantined individuals, three of them, has later confirmed positive after a couple of days. Besides the people who are under quarantine, there have not been any public cases of Ebola in Uganda.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health is in the process of securing around $35 million to ensure that Uganda offers medical assistance on the side of the Democratic Republic of Congo to curb the outbreak from the other side of the country. Among other precautionary measures taken, Uganda has closed its border with the democratic republic of Congo, cancelled all flights to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and postponed the Martyrs Day celebration. Though the country will observe 3rd June as a public holiday, no gathering will be held.

Travel Advisories

The United States of America has issued a travel advisory labeling Uganda a level four destination tagged; do not travel. During the Pearl of Africa tourism Expo, the president of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni responded to the travel advisory as a lack of information. He said Ebola is not like Covid, it only spreads through direct contact with the person. It is not possible to catch Ebola from a distance. A country was commended for being one of the best in handling covid-19 cannot fail to handle Ebola which was easier to control than covid-19.

It is important to note that during Covid-19 era, people continue to travel. They simply had to observe social distancing, sanitize and avoiding direct contact which is the same thing that applies to Ebola. Unlike Covid-19 where the country had people who were infected around the country, the Ebola case is different since there has not been any recorded case of Ebola case from the general public.

Should You Still Travel To Uganda Amidst Ebola Rumors?

If you still have insurance coverage, you should not cancel your trip to Uganda. The situation is normal. You can check out the Arsenal trophy celebrations in Uganda, you will notice that life is moving on normally. But in all this, you have to continue monitoring the news updates. At the moment there has not been any registered case of the general public but in case things change, you can cancel the trip for your peace of mind but in case you still wish to travel, there is nothing to worry about at this point in time.

Rescheduling Gorilla Trekking Permits in Case of Change of Travel Plans

The gorilla trekking permits can be rescheduled to a future date. That is if they are not low season permits. The low season permits can only be rescheduled into low season months while the high season permits can be rescheduled to any time of the year. The reschedule is free of charge if it is done not later than a month before the trekking date. If you reschedule the permit with in less than a month to the trekking date, Uganda wildlife Authority will fine you for late reschedule fees. That is 25% of the total amount. In case you travel plans are not confirmed, you can cancel the permits and get a refund as per the Uganda wildlife Authority refund policy.

The same terms for gorilla trekking permits also apply to chimpanzee tracking permits in Uganda with one twist. Not all chimpanzee permits are handled by Uganda wildlife authority. Therefore chimpanzee tracking destinations such as Kalinzu forest, Bugoma forest and Budongo forest have a different refund policy