Ebola in Uganda: lessons from COVID show that heavy-handed lockdowns may be a bad idea
SINCE the first case of the current Ebola outbreak in Uganda was confirmed in mid-September, the number of cases has topped 127 across seven districts, including 17 in the capital city Kampala. Yet most people living in the city fear another round of lockdowns perhaps even more than they fear becoming infected. Two high-risk districts are already under a 21-day lockdown. And although the government says it is not considering Kampala high risk at the moment, it has not shied away from using the “threat” of lockdowns to try to persuade people to conform to the health procedures. These include…