President Museveni has reassured Ugandans about the out break of the deadly Ebola virus and ruled out ruled out a lockdown .
“It is not necessary to have lockdowns. We just need to take care of a few things. This time we are fighting differently. It is not necessary to have lockdowns close schools , stopping people from going to church, markets ,travelling etc,” Museveni said.
“Us who are used of fighting wars, when we heard the characteristics of Ebola, we decided to fight differently. It’s not necessary to have lockdowns, close markets and schools or stop worshippers from congregating etc,” the President stated adding that ,”Ebola highly spreads through direct body contact and fluids. Other means are if you have sex, saliva and blood transfusion. The good news about Ebola is that it is not as infectious as Covid-19 which is mainly air-borne. “
According to Museveni, government has capacity to deal with the virus, noting that a treatment unit for Ebola at Mubende Referral Hospital currently has a 51-bed capacity for confirmed cases and eight bed capacity for suspects whereas a 31-bed capacity treatment unit has been set up as Madudu Health Center III.
“I want to assure you that government has capacity to control this Ebola outbreak as we have done before. This disease doesn’t need those big measures. It doesn’t go through air. This is an enemy we can easily fight. The big battle is on washing hands. Stop panicking because this is very easy to stop.”
Five doctors test positive
The president also revealed that five doctors have tested positive for Ebola in Mubende.
According to Museveni, the five and an anesthetic were exposed to the index case( first identified case) in Mubende between September 15 and 18 but noted that they are being managed at Mubende and Fort Portal referral hospitals.
“I saw international media houses like Aljazeera quoting wrong figures. The confirmed cases are 24 with five deaths. I am told there is no approved vaccine for the Ebola Sudan strain and a number of vaccine trials are ongoing. Government is exploring all options, and I will update the country .”Government has the capacity to control this Ebola virus like we have done before, so there is no need for panic and unnecessary closure of schools, markets and restriction of movement for now,”‘ he stressed .
