The U.S. State Department has updated its travel advisories for Uganda and Rwanda in response to the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
Uganda has been downgraded to a Level 4 (do not travel) and Rwanda, its neighbor to the south, is at Level 3 (reconsider travel).
The State Department said these updates were made to reflect "circumstances on the ground."
Additionally, the State Department coordinated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a Title 42 order on Monday, prohibiting inbound travel to the U.S. for those who have visited the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan within the last 21 days. On May 17, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
"By working to contain the outbreak before it reaches American shores, the United States is protecting the health of Americans at home and abroad," the State Department said.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was "deeply concerned" about how quickly the virus has spread. There are 131 suspected deaths and 513 suspected cases, according to the Times.
The effect on safari operators
Africa safari operators so far report no disruptions.
Uganda, a destination best known for safaris and mountain gorilla trekking, has two reported cases of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
Uganda is "world-renowned and experienced in Ebola containment, tracing and elimination, and it has significant resource-backing from the World Health Organization to do so," said Bjorn Behlert, the Africa team leader at Scott Dunn, a bespoke luxury tour operator that crafts safari itineraries.
Still, the State Department's Level 4 warning could be a blow to Uganda tourism.
Tour operators said clients are reaching out with concerns, but none have canceled or altered their itineraries, and neither have the operators.
Typically, Ebola cases are detected in rural areas, Behlert said, posing an "extremely small" risk to tourists with no heightened risk for those traveling there. And, he said, Covid and past Ebola outbreaks have created a more resilient group of travelers who aren't as quickly turned away from traveling to a country with health concerns.
"Ebola is not Covid," he said. "You can only be infected through very close physical contact with a very, visibly sick person."
Intrepid Travel operates Uganda trips and has a small team based there. Those team members are in contact with authorities and partners monitoring the situation. No itineraries have been impacted, said Leigh Barnes, president of the Americas for Intrepid.
Shaun Stanley, founder and managing director of Stanley Safaris, has sent a letter to guests slated for upcoming trips.
The Q&A-style letter assures guests that "the situation has no bearing on your trip" for those going to Rwanda, Tanzania or Kenya.
Stanley said the operator is monitoring the situation.
"I have been traveling and working in Africa for over four decades," he wrote in his letter to guests. "I have seen how quickly fear can outpace fact when something like this emerges in the news cycle. Africa is not a single place, and an outbreak in a remote province of the DRC is no more a reason to cancel a gorilla trek in Rwanda than an outbreak in one part of Europe would be a reason to cancel a trip to another. Context is everything."