> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://bullquill.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Uganda Ebola quarantine: 21 days for returnees from DR Congo - URL: https://bullquill.com/uganda-quarantine-returnees-congo-ebola/ - Published: 2026-10-26T09:16:13.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-26T09:25:42.000Z - Description: Returnees from the DRC must pay for their own three-week stay, and every arrival must fill in a passenger locator form. Here is who is covered, why Uganda acted and what is still unclear. - Author: Rowan Ashby - Tags: World, Uganda, Ebola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, World Health Organization, #lang-en, #tr-uganda-quarantine-returnees-congo-ebola ## Key takeaways - Ugandan citizens who come home with a recent travel history in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) must now spend 21 days in quarantine, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced in Kampala on Sunday, 25 October 2026. - Returnees will cover the cost of their own quarantine, according to the Ministry of Health as reported by Al Jazeera and U.S. News & World Report. - Screening has been stepped up at Entebbe International Airport and every land crossing, and anyone entering Uganda by air, land or water must fill in a passenger locator form, Reuters reported. - Uganda says it has no active Ebola infections. The measure follows two cases in Kenya and Nigeria involving travellers who passed through Entebbe on 3 October. - The DRC's Bundibugyo-strain outbreak had reached 9,816 confirmed cases and 4,757 confirmed deaths as of 23 October, according to the US CDC. There is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for this strain. ## Uganda's 21-day Ebola quarantine: what the new rule requires Uganda will place citizens returning from the DRC in a 21-day Ebola quarantine at their own cost, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced on 25 October. The Uganda Ebola quarantine is the widest such measure since Uganda declared its own outbreak over in July. According to Reuters, Baryomunsi said Ugandans "with a history of travel" to the DRC will be quarantined for 21 days on arrival. Al Jazeera, citing the ministry, said the returnees must pay for the quarantine themselves. The 21-day period matches the maximum incubation time for Ebola: the World Health Organization (WHO) says symptoms can take up to three weeks to appear. The rule, as reported so far, applies to returning Ugandan citizens. Reports do not say whether foreign nationals arriving from the DRC face the same requirement, beyond the screening and locator forms that now apply to everyone entering the country. ### Tighter checks at Entebbe and land borders Alongside the quarantine, the ministry said traveller screening has been intensified at Entebbe International Airport and at all land border crossings. Every person entering Uganda by air, land or water must complete a passenger locator form recording how they can be contacted, Reuters reported. Al Jazeera described the same measures and said they were announced at the Kampala briefing. ## Why Uganda acted now: the Kenya and Nigeria cases The new rule follows two infections outside the DRC that both trace back through Uganda's main airport. We covered the first weeks of those cases in our report on [Ebola cases in Kenya and Nigeria](https://bullquill.com/ebola-spreads-kenya-nigeria-cases-confirmed/). - **Kenya:** Kenya's first patient travelled from the DRC into Uganda and flew from Entebbe to Nairobi on 3 October, then died two days later, Reuters reported. Kenya has since recorded nine confirmed cases and two deaths, according to the US CDC. Baryomunsi said all 60 Ugandan contacts linked to the Kenyan case finished 21 days of monitoring and were discharged. - **Nigeria:** A 42-year-old woman, the wife of a Swiss diplomat, flew from Uganda via Addis Ababa to Abuja on 3 October, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as cited by Reuters. Nigeria confirmed her infection on 20 October. She is in isolation and has "improved remarkably," and 53 contacts have been traced, Reuters reported. Health ministry permanent secretary Diana Atwine said a review of CCTV footage showed the two travellers passed through Entebbe on the same day without any physical contact, according to Reuters. Nigerian genetic testing found the two viruses closely related, but no direct link between the cases has been established. ### A dispute over where the Nigerian patient was infected Swiss authorities believe the woman caught the virus in Uganda, Reuters and Al Jazeera reported. Baryomunsi said Switzerland was "speaking prematurely." He said relatives from Uganda's West Nile region, who had been to the DRC, visited her in Kansanga, a Kampala suburb, and added: "We should speak science, not politics." Al Jazeera reported that the WHO said on Thursday its information did not show the woman had travelled to the DRC. Ugandan officials are reviewing genomic sequencing, travel records and movements with Nigerian authorities and international partners, according to Reuters. The source of her infection has not been confirmed. ## Ebola outbreak in numbers The figures below are the US CDC's confirmed counts for the 2026 Bundibugyo outbreak. Countries report on different schedules, so national figures may run ahead of this table. | Country | Confirmed cases | Confirmed deaths | Status | | -------------------------------- | --------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 9,816 | 4,757 | Active; largest Ebola outbreak recorded in the country | | Uganda | 20 | 2 | Declared over on 28 July 2026 | | Kenya | 9 | 2 | Single cluster of known contacts | | Nigeria | 1 | 0 | Imported case, patient recovering | | France | 1 | 0 | Imported case | | **Total** | **9,847** | **4,761** | Counts as of 23 October 2026 | Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola situation summary (updated 24 October 2026). The CDC also lists one probable case and one probable death in Uganda. The violence around the response is adding to the strain in the DRC. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a nurse was killed and another health worker severely injured on Saturday while responding to an Ebola alert in Bafwasende, in the north of the country, Reuters reported. ## How the rule fits Uganda's earlier Ebola measures This is the third major travel measure Uganda has taken against the outbreak since it began in May. 1. **May: border closure.** Uganda declared an outbreak on 15 May after infected people crossed from the DRC. Around 28 May it temporarily shut the border, with exemptions for the Ebola response, humanitarian work, security and food and cargo transport, CIDRAP reported. Anyone entering outside those exemptions faced 21 days of isolation. The WHO advised against blanket border closures at the time. 2. **July: outbreak declared over.** Baryomunsi declared Uganda Ebola-free on 28 July after a 42-day monitoring period. The country recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths; most were imported from the DRC and the rest were health workers who cared for them, Pulse Uganda reported. 3. **September: student rule.** A Ministry of Education statement dated 9 September, based on a Ministry of Health risk assessment, ordered learners arriving from the DRC for the third school term to complete 21 days of supervised quarantine and obtain written health clearance before reporting to school, the Daily Monitor reported. Learners who commute across the border daily were barred from Ugandan schools while transmission continues. The October rule extends that 21-day logic from students to all returning citizens. ## What is still unknown - **Where and how quarantine happens:** reports have not said whether returnees will be held in government facilities, approved hotels or at home under supervision, or what it will cost. - **Start date and exemptions:** it is not yet clear whether the rule took effect immediately, or whether cross-border traders, health workers or people transiting the country are exempt. - **Foreign travellers:** reports describe the quarantine as applying to Ugandan citizens; the treatment of non-Ugandans arriving from the DRC has not been detailed beyond screening and locator forms. - **The Nigerian infection:** the source has not been confirmed, and the genomic review is ongoing. ## What it means For Ugandans who travel to the DRC for work, trade, family or school, a trip now carries three weeks of quarantine and the bill for it on return. Uganda and the DRC share a long, busy border, so the rule is likely to affect a large number of people, although no official estimate has been published. The measure also sits awkwardly with the WHO's position. In its 23 October update, the WHO urged stronger monitoring and cross-border cooperation and advised against travel or trade restrictions on affected countries, Al Jazeera reported. Uganda's approach targets its own returning citizens rather than banning travel. When Uganda shut the border in May, the WHO warned that blanket closures could push people toward informal crossings and weaken surveillance; whether a self-paid quarantine has a similar effect is something health officials will be watching. For travellers elsewhere, the practical change is at Entebbe: expect extra screening and a locator form on arrival. For the wider region, the step shows how the Kenya and Nigeria cases have put Uganda, a transit hub with no active infections, under pressure to show its controls work. Follow further developments on our [Ebola](https://bullquill.com/tag/ebola/), [Uganda](https://bullquill.com/tag/uganda/) and [World Health Organization](https://bullquill.com/tag/world-health-organization/) pages. ## Frequently asked questions ### Who has to quarantine when entering Uganda from DR Congo? Ugandan citizens returning with a travel history in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must spend 21 days in quarantine, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi announced on 25 October 2026\. Reports say returnees pay for it themselves. All arrivals must also fill in a passenger locator form. ### Why is the Ebola quarantine 21 days? The WHO says Ebola symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear, so three weeks without symptoms is the standard monitoring period for people who may have been exposed. ### Does Uganda have active Ebola cases? No. Uganda says it has no active infections. It declared its own Bundibugyo outbreak over on 28 July 2026 after 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. ### How many Ebola cases are there in DR Congo? The US CDC lists 9,816 confirmed cases and 4,757 confirmed deaths in the DRC as of 23 October 2026, making it the largest Ebola outbreak recorded in the country.