The Ministry of Health has come out to clarify that the MTN Kampala Marathon which took place on Sunday did not have any risk of transmitting Ebola.
The run attracted over 20,000 participants, and was graced by a number of government officials, including; Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwiine; KCCA Executive Director, Dorothy Kisaka among others.
Following, the conclusion of the run, a number of Ugandans on social media, including the opposition politician, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu criticized government for allowing the marathon yet the districts of Kasanda and Mubende are under lockdown imposed by government to contain the spread of Ebola.
“Today, regime officials graced a marathon with thousands of people. Robina Nabbanja, Diana Atwiine from the Ministry of Health, etc! The same regime has kept the people of Mubende and Kassanda under a lockdown to apparently control ebola and closed schools two weeks before time! The citizens are asking- is there an outbreak of ebola in Uganda, or is it a stunt being used to siphon public funds and money from donors? If there is an outbreak, does it only operate in schools? Our country is ruled by criminals who are not even competent to run a sub-county,” Bobi Wine wrote on his Twitter account.
Today regime officials graced a marathon with thousands of people. Robina Nabbanja, Diana Atwiine from the Ministry of Health, etc! The same regime has kept the people of Mubende and Kassanda under a lockdown to apparently control ebola and closed schools two weeks before time! pic.twitter.com/xuM677mGis
— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) November 20, 2022
He added: “We all remember how they used COVID19 to carry out grand theft of public funds and money from donors. Of course they also used COVID19 to constrain civic liberties and control dissent. It is a shame that they have made a joke of everything, including public health!”
In response, the Ministry of Health said it cleared and authorized the Marathon after consultations with “technical officers” and assessing that the event posed no risk of Ebola transmission among the participants.
“The Ministry of Health would like to categorically state as follows; Unlike COVID-19, the risk of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) transmission and spread is highest when people are symptomatic (presenting with signs and symptoms). With the screening measures in place at the MTN Kampala Marathon, no participant presented with any other symptom. Furthermore, symptomatic EVD patients can barely engage in rigorous activities like running and aerobics,” the Ministry said in a statement.
It added that Kampala Metropolitan Area has not registered Ebola cases beyond those that were under quarantine, having been contacts to confirmed cases recorded in Kampala.
“It is important to note that isolating contacts early before they manifest the disease ably curbs the transmission. This has worked well for Kampala alongside other measures like active surveillance.”
The epi centre districts of Mubende and Kasanda, the Ministry said, remain under restricted movement to prevent the exportation of the Ebola virus to other parts of the country.
It said the restrictions in movements are continuously reviewed based on the epidemiological trends and risk of transmission.
The MTN Marathon 2022 which was organized under the theme, “Running for Babies,” aimed to raise funds to support neonatal and maternal health services in 4 health facilities; Kawaala, Kisenyi, Kaabong and Kachumbala.