Two districts in Uganda have entered an immediate 21-day lockdown which will include a nightly curfew, travel bans and the closure of places of worship in a bid to stem the spread of a new wave of Ebola.
President Yoweri Museveni said on Saturday he would impose an overnight curfew effective immediately in the Mubende and Kassanda districts in central Uganda.
Bars, markets and all places of worship will also be closed for 21 days as part of the measures.
Authorities say the outbreak is concentrated in the districts and has not reached Kampala, the capital of 1.5 million, despite a husband and wife testing positive there.
So far, 54 Ebola cases have been detected in Uganda since the outbreak was detected on September 17. Of these known cases, 19 people have died.
One victim died in Kampala but the individual is understood to have contracted the virus in an affected district before fleeing.
The majority of cases have been reported in Mubende, and known cases outside of this region have an epidemiological link back to the village.
In a televised address, Mr Museveni ordered Mubende and Kassanda into immediate lockdown, imposing a dusk to dawn curfew, banning travel and closing markets, bars and churches for 21 days.
'If you are in Mubende and Kassanda districts, stay there for 21 days,' Mr Museveni, a guerilla leader turned president who has ruled Uganda since 1986, said.
Cargo trucks will still be allowed to enter and leave the two areas, but all other transport - personal or otherwise - is to be suspended.
Mr Museveni had already ordered traditional healers to stop treating sick people in a bid to halt the spread of Ebola, and ordered police to arrest anyone suspected of having contracted the virus who refused to go into isolation.
'These are temporary measures to control the spread of Ebola. We should all cooperate with authorities so we bring this outbreak to an end in the shortest possible time,' Mr Museveni said.
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