Uganda Begins 42-Day Ebola Countdown After Last Patient Discharged

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing Reuters and Xinhua, Uganda's Ministry of Health said the country's last Ebola patient was discharged on Thursday, starting a 42-day countdown after which Uganda could declare itself free of Ebola. The patient, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was discharged from the isolation ward at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala. At a ceremony at the hospital, Health Minister Baryomunsi presented the recovered patient with a discharge certificate, saying he no longer posed a risk of spreading Ebola and could return to normal family life and work. World Health Organization representative in Uganda Mwinga said Uganda had contained the outbreak thanks to thorough preparation and a high-alert Ebola response team, adding that the case-fatality rate in this outbreak was one of the lowest in Uganda's Ebola history. Reuters also cited government spokesman Kasuja as saying on Wednesday that the patient would be discharged from the isolation ward at the hospital. Kasuja said on X that if there were no new cases within 42 days, Uganda would be able to declare itself Ebola-free under WHO guidelines. Since mid-May, Uganda has recorded 20 Ebola cases of the rare Bundibugyo strain, including 15 patients who were infected in neighboring Congo before traveling to Uganda. Uganda has reported no new cases since June 22, while Congo reported 62 new cases on Thursday, bringing total confirmed cases to 2,073; WHO said the actual number of infections may be at least twice as high.