Foreign Affairs Minister Adonia Ayebare with His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
By Johannah Nantongo
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has eased precautionary entry restrictions on Ugandan nationals following the end of the country’s Ebola outbreak.
The decision, announced on Saturday, follows Uganda’s completion of the internationally established monitoring period, according to the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA).
NCEMA announced the easing in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP).
The UAE introduced the restrictions on June 6 to prevent importation of Ebola from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.
Under the measures, new visas for nationals of the three countries were suspended, with entry restrictions also applying to travellers arriving from the affected countries, including via third countries, unless they had spent more than 21 days outside the listed countries.
Restrictions on Uganda have now been eased, but similar measures for the DRC and South Sudan remain in force due to the ongoing epidemiological situation there.
NCEMA, MoHAP and ICP said they would continue monitoring regional and international Ebola developments and review measures in line with risk assessments.
Uganda declared its Ebola outbreak over on July 28 after completing the required monitoring period without further transmission.
Uganda had declared the outbreak on May 15 following confirmation of imported cases from the DRC, registering 20 confirmed cases, 18 recoveries and 2 deaths.