President Museveni has moved to reassure Ugandans over the current Ebola situation, urging the public not to panic and insisting that the disease is easier to control than Covid-19.
Speaking during the opening of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo at Speke Resort Hotel in Munyonyo, Museveni criticized international media coverage, saying some reports were spreading unnecessary fear.
“I was watching CNN spreading fear through ignorance. Ebola is much easier to control than Covid. Covid was one of the biggest problems in the world. It was one of the most dangerous pandemics because it was spreading through breathing,” he said.
“We sit in the same bus, even if I am some metres away you can infect me. We sit in the same room, you can infect me with Covid. And it is why it was very dangerous.”
Museveni said Uganda’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic demonstrated the country’s ability to effectively manage public health emergencies.
“Uganda was the most successful country in the whole world in controlling Corona. We lost very few people, about 200. You can check what other countries lost. Here we controlled it with few losses,” he said.
He stressed that Ebola spreads differently and can be contained through preventive measures and early medical intervention.
“Therefore Ebola is nothing compared to Corona. It spreads by intimate contact. Intimate contact is how Ebola spreads,” Museveni said.
“Somebody infected by Ebola is not infective all the time. It is only when symptoms show that they can infect, and it is after five or 10 days.”
The President noted that Ebola has an incubation period of up to 21 days and urged the public to avoid unnecessary physical contact, particularly handshakes.
Museveni also emphasized that Ebola patients can survive if they seek treatment early.
“If you report Ebola early, it is treatable because you counter the damage it causes to you. It kills by high fever which damages your organs, and doctors can control it if reported in time. Vomiting and so on causes dehydration. Early intervention, you rehydrate. Somebody infected can be treated.”
The President clarified that the outbreak is largely concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo and not Uganda.
“CNN was saying DRC and Uganda. This was mainly DRC. All the 500 were from there. The one who died here was from Congo.”
He added that Uganda’s cases were linked to cross-border movement from the neighbouring country.
“The correct description of the outbreak is that it is mainly in Congo with a few people who came here from DRC,” he said.
Museveni revealed that during discussions with the national Ebola task force, officials agreed against causing panic by shutting borders, arguing that legal travellers can still be monitored effectively.
“When I met with the task force, we didn’t agree with the panic of crossing the border because if people are coming legally, we can manage them,” he said.
“If we work with the DRC government and tell them anybody with fever should not travel, we can also check temperatures and then guide everybody who is sick to report to the health centre. We shall control it.”
However, the President warned against informal border interactions, particularly markets operating near crossing points.
“What we must stop are border markets,” Museveni said.
