Travellers are calling off trips to Uganda due to Ebola concerns

Travellers are calling off trips to Uganda due to Ebola concerns

Uganda faces a new Ebola outbreak with 141 infections and 55 fatalities reported so far.

In a recent message to Ugandans, President Yoweri Museveni stated that he had been notified that visitors were cancelling travels to the nation and that a few of them have rescheduled hotel reservations. However, according to the president, Ebola contact lists are being distributed to the immigration department in order to keep the infection from spreading beyond the nation's borders. Tourists are also urged to remain calm, as the country is secure for visits.

"This is most unfortunate and not necessary. As you have seen, Ebola, if you follow the guidelines, it will not get you. Uganda remains safe and we welcome international guests," Museveni declared.

At the same time, the current epidemic has already reached Jinja, Uganda's sixth district, a famous tourist destination.

December is typically one of the busiest months in the country's tourism business, so it is expected that the sector will be significantly impacted by the situation.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Uganda received somewhat more than 600,000 tourists every year. When the Covid pandemic begun in 2020, that number plummeted to below 200,000, leaving many Ugandans working in the hospitality sector free of stable jobs.

According to Gessa Simplicious, PR officer for the Uganda Tourism Board, the tourism industry was slowly recovering before this new Ebola epidemic, but now industry operators are severely hit by the spreading of the disease and lack of tourists.

"And you see this Ebola is only isolating us as a country. So, it means, tourists can go elsewhere for the same thing and omit Uganda," he stated.

As for now, officials have strengthened security in two of the most Ebola-affected regions, Mubende and Kasanda, by extending a 21-day curfew. Authorities also prohibit locals from seeking treatment with traditional medicine and will as well attempt to restrict people's transit in and out of the impacted areas.

 

Source: voanews.com