Uganda closes schools early for Christmas over Ebola fears
The government's official stance is that everything is under control.
In the past two months, 55 people have died from the virus - and there were 22 probable Ebola deaths before the outbreak was officially declared on 20 September.
Some experts have expressed reservations about the school shutdowns, arguing that keeping pupils contained for another two weeks would be a better way to halt the spread of the deadly disease, given the incubation period can last from two days to three weeks.
Ebola is a viral infection that is spread through the bodily fluids of a patient.
Many of the children who attend boarding schools will be travelling long distances across the country.
"They are going to be packed in buses, minibuses and private cars providing maximum opportunity for people to mix in very close contact," public health expert Dr Olive Kobusingye, a senior research fellow at Makerere University School and the University of South Africa.
"It's the last thing Uganda needs now."
But it is not a decision taken lightly - given that at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Uganda imposed the most extended school closure globally, lasting 22 months.
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