KAMPALA – Uganda has intensified coronavirus screening at Entebbe International Airport to prevent the disease from spreading from international travelers especially from China and other parts of Asia.
Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng said all passengers arriving through Entebbe airport, about 40 km south of the capital, Kampala are screened of Coronavirus.
President Yoweri Museveni is among other screened of the deadly coronavirus.
Dr. Aceng said medical teams have been trained to handle the screening process to reduce the risk of transmission from persons jetting in who might be infected.
We visited Entebbe International Airport on Friday and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority team took us on a guided tour of the airport sections including where all travelers using the airport are subjected to intense screening.
The ministry has since installed Automated Temperature Scanners at the airport to screen passengers mainly coming into the country.
The health ministry has also advised the public to avoid direct contact with persons who exhibit signs of infection and regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid contact.
The highly contagious Coronavirus causes a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise and in many cases internal and external bleeding, according to the World Health Organization.
Uganda also issued a travel warning, recommending travellers to avoid all nonessential travel to China.
The coronavirus outbreak in China has propelled an unparalleled clampdown on travel to and from the world’s second-largest economy, leaving thousands of people stranded across the globe and dealing a major blow to the international aviation industry.
Most of the international airlines have suspended 40% of scheduled services in and out of the country from January 23 to February 8.
Previously only Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, was at a Level 3. The rest of China was rated Level 2, which recommends “practice enhanced precautions.”
Private companies are also giving warnings to employees. On Monday, Facebook restricted its employees’ travel to China.
Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam were top destinations, but Chinese tourists are big spenders in cities like Africa and other parts of Europe.
