I watched out the window over Lake Victoria as the plane touched down in Entebbe just before sunset. This was my eighth visit to Uganda since I first came in 2010, but this time—a one-week trip that started on June 5—looked a bit different. Upon entering the arrivals building, a crowd of people had gathered to have their temperature checked and to scan a QR code verifying their pre-arrival health screening. The reason? The current Ebola outbreak in parts of East and Central Africa.
Since the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) first reported an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus in May, headlines have warned of a rapidly escalating crisis. Ebola is a serious, often fatal disease caused by one of three viruses, and its symptoms include high fever, vomiting, and muscle pain.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “People can get Ebola disease through contact with the body fluids of an infected sick or dead person. A person is only contagious once they begin showing symptoms of the disease. You cannot get Ebola from simply being near someone or passing them in public spaces because it doesn’t spread through the air.” Health experts have raised concerns about the outbreak’s volatility, specifically in eastern DRC, where ongoing conflict and displacement make containment challenging.
After a small number of cases were reported in Uganda on May 15, headlines have grouped the two countries together. This has created confusion, making it difficult to understand what is happening on the ground and whether popular tourism destinations across East Africa, which are heading into their typical peak seasons, are affected.
In response to the uptick in cases, the U.S. State Department designated Uganda Travel Advisory Level 4 on June 4, and KLM has suspended routes to Uganda. Flight routes to Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania remain unaffected. For travelers planning safaris and gorilla treks in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and beyond, the question stands: Is the region currently safe to visit?
As someone who lives in Kenya, has worked and traveled across East and Central Africa for more than 15 years, and has just returned to Kenya from Uganda, I’m very familiar with the region and navigating public health crises here. Many international headlines suggest that the Ebola crisis devastating parts of the DRC is hitting Uganda with equal force. The reality I have encountered on the ground has been far more nuanced.
Health screenings and procedures
Before taking off for Uganda on June 5, I completed a short digital form sent by the Uganda Ministry of Health that asked for details such as my passport information, countries I’d visited in the past 21 days, and the hotels I would be staying at in Uganda. After completing the form, the system generated a QR code, which I saved on my phone and which health authorities scanned upon my arrival in Entebbe. The airport had visible reminders of the current health situation, including temperature screenings, hand-sanitizing stations, and health officials monitoring arrivals.
Throughout the country, many hotels, lodges, and visitor centers had hand-washing stations or sanitizer at entrances. I passed a handful of health checkpoints along major roads and near protected areas. Except for a few health-check officials at the airport, no one wore masks. Because Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person and not through the air, as is the case for the COVID-19 virus or the flu, masks are not particularly helpful in preventing transmission in the general public. Masks, however, are required around chimpanzees and mountain gorillas, which has been standard practice since the pandemic to reduce the risk of passing communicable diseases to the great apes.
A group of gorilla trackers in Uganda, which is seeing fewer travelers after cases of Ebola were reported.
Photo by Alicia Erickson
Beyond those precautions, however, traveling in Uganda was business as usual. Wildlife-tracking continued. National parks have remained open. Domestic travel was unrestricted. Restaurants, shops, and hotels were operating.
The biggest difference was how quiet Uganda seemed compared to previous visits. At most lodges where I stayed, a handful of rooms were occupied. Other travelers I met reported similar experiences. I was the only guest on my chimpanzee trek in Kyambura Gorge, and my guide at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park commented on how quiet it was, amid what should be the busiest season.
On the drive from Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi, my driver, Joseph, said, “You see this road? It is usually filled with cars making the journey.” That afternoon, one vehicle traveled in front of us. Joseph told me that during previous outbreaks with significantly higher case counts, schools and churches had temporarily closed, and public transportation was restricted—yet tourism continued operating.
I also completed a digital health form when I returned to Kenya, with a QR code scan and a temperature check in Jomo Kenyatta Airport upon my arrival in Nairobi.
What is happening in East and Central Africa?
The epicenter of the current outbreak remains in eastern DRC, where hundreds of cases have been reported, as of press time. Tourism is already severely limited in the region due to armed conflict. While the Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing an uptick in Ebola cases, it’s important to note that the Republic of Congo—in Central West Africa, known for rainforest adventures and western lowland gorilla trekking—has not seen Ebola cases and remains open to tourism.
In Uganda, a limited number of cases has been reported following cross-border transmission from the DRC. However, there has been no evidence of the virus spreading, and its borders with the DRC are now closed.
Neighboring Rwanda remains Ebola-free as of press time and has placed a travel ban on foreign nationals who have visited or transited through the DRC in the past 30 days. Kenya and Tanzania also have not reported any Ebola cases to date, although Kenya has made headlines for the proposed Ebola treatment center in Nanyuki for Americans exposed to the virus, which has sparked violent riots. Despite the court rejecting the project, recent drone footage confirms that the center is under construction.
“What I’ve learned is that the headlines often travel much further than the disease itself,” Richard Stubbs, director of sales at Go2Africa, said in an email interview.
That doesn’t mean the outbreak isn’t serious, but the reality varies from country to country, and understanding those distinctions is critical. Ebola outbreaks are not new to this region. Uganda has dealt with multiple outbreaks over the past two decades and has developed systems for screening and contact tracing.
“Since 2000, we have had about 16 episodes of Ebola in and around the Congo Basin forests,” said Praveen Moman, founder of Volcanoes Safaris, a conservation-focused company with four lodges across Uganda and one in Rwanda. “We have learned how to understand what the risks are and issue regular updates setting out the situation on the ground and refer travelers to the expert health organizations.”
Tourism industry leaders agree that every outbreak must be taken seriously—but also argue that broad generalizations of the region can be misleading.
“While any Ebola outbreak must be taken seriously,” said James Haigh, chair of the African Travel and Tourism Association, “the international reaction to the current outbreak has, in many cases, been disproportionate to the actual situation on the ground and the level of risk faced by visitors.”
A boat ride along the Kazinga Channel in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, where a drop in tourism can have a sweeping effect on surrounding communities
Photo by Alicia Erickson
The impact on tourism and conservation
Across Uganda, guides with Uganda Wildlife Authority, lodge managers, and other industry professionals described a wave of cancellations, postponements, and inquiries. Priscilla Kasamani, manager of Kyambura Gorge Lodge, said the property had already recorded five postponements for bookings in June, now pushed to later dates. At Bwindi Lodge, manager Nicky Obuwa noted that occupancy levels were far below what would normally be expected during peak season.
The effects extend far beyond hotel bookings. Tourism supports drivers, guides, trackers, porters, hospitality workers, local businesses, and conservation programs throughout the region. In destinations like Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth National Park, visitor revenue directly supports protected areas and the communities that live alongside them.
Gorilla trekking is operating, and wildlife authorities continue to enforce strict health protocols designed to protect both travelers and primates, including face masks.
Should you still visit?
Whether to travel is ultimately a personal decision, and travelers should continue monitoring guidance from public health authorities. But experts familiar with the region emphasize that Uganda’s tourism destinations are distinct from outbreak hot spots.
“It is important to remember that Uganda has successfully contained multiple outbreaks before,” said Haigh. “Guests visiting wildlife areas and tourism destinations remain in very low-risk environments, often hundreds of kilometers from any affected locations.”
The greatest challenges for many travelers currently stem not from restrictions within East Africa itself, but from measures imposed by other countries, including a self-quarantine requirement by Canada and screenings that require travelers returning to the U.S. to transit through one of four airports.
The outbreak is real and so are the precautions. But the quiet lodges, the half-empty meeting point at Bwindi on the morning of my mountain gorilla trek, and conversations I had with guides, managers, and drivers were evidence enough that fear travels faster than the virus.
