A border health officer at the Busunga crossing between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo checks a traveler’s temperature. (May 18, 2026)
Jordan suspends entry from Congo, Uganda over Ebola virus
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Jordan’s Ministry of Interior, based on a recommendation from the Ministry of Health, has decided to temporarily ban the entry of all arrivals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda into the Kingdom, with the exception of Jordanian citizens, as a precautionary measure for 30 days starting from Wednesday.
The decision comes amid epidemiological developments related to the spread of Ebola in the two countries.
“The decision falls within the implementation of the provisions of Jordan’s Public Health Law No. 47 of 2008 and its amendments, and forms part of the precautionary measures aimed at preventing the entry and spread of epidemics and communicable diseases, the statement said.
Ebola
The World Health Organization on Tuesday voiced concern about the "scale and speed" of an Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 130 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and warned it could be lengthy.
The UN health agency has declared the surge of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever in the east of the country an international health emergency.
No vaccine or therapeutic treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola which is responsible for the outbreak.
Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the past half-century.
Workers with shovels were seen digging to clear an abandoned Ebola treatment centre in the eastern city of Goma.
Tonnes of emergency medical supplies, including infection prevention kits and tents, as well as experts have arrived in recent days, local WHO footage showed.
With the recent cases largely concentrated in difficult-to-access areas hit by long-running conflicts, few samples have been laboratory-tested and figures are based mostly on suspected cases.
Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told reporters on Tuesday that there had been 136 deaths suspected to be linked to Ebola and about 543 suspected cases, calling for international aid to help combat the spread.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic" while the agency's representative in the DRC said a vaccine candidate called Ervebo was being considered.
But Anne Ancia said it would likely take at least two months to be available, adding: "I don't think that in two months we will be done with this outbreak".
