Uganda has implemented Ebola screening for all departing travelers at its border points and Entebbe International Airport to prevent the virus’s spread beyond its borders.

Henry Kyobe Bosa, incident commander at the Ministry of Health, told Xinhua that travellers departing through Uganda’s 53 designated border points and Entebbe International Airport are being screened for the Sudan Ebola virus disease (SVD).

A thermal scanner has been deployed at the airport for high-temperature detection, and sanitation measures are in place. “We have heightened active surveillance. We have instituted exit screening starting fully at Entebbe airport, and we are rolling the same across the entire 53 designated border points,” Bosa said. “If the temperature is detected high, then that individual will be refused to exit and linked to the isolation. This is to ensure that we localise the Ebola outbreak within the country without spreading it out.”

Uganda declared an Ebola outbreak last week after a 32-year-old nurse died from the disease. The Ministry of Health said two of the nurse’s relatives have tested positive, and 234 contacts have been identified and isolated.

Uganda is conducting a clinical efficacy trial for a Sudan Ebola virus vaccine with the World Health Organization and other partners.