Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has sought to reassure a nervous public, declaring that the country’s latest Ebola flare-up is showing signs of retreat, even as health officials maintain a high state of alert along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In a nationally broadcast address, Museveni cited World Health Organization figures indicating 19 recorded Ebola cases in Uganda, including two confirmed deaths and five recoveries. Crucially, he noted, those numbers have remained unchanged for several days.

“Five days now, no new case. It looks like the fire of Ebola has started going down,” Museveni said, urging citizens not to relax their guard. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. Let’s be very serious. We don’t have to keep playing around. Listen carefully and act. This is easy to stop. We stopped it in the past and we can stop it now.”

Health authorities say every identified case in Uganda has been traced to people who had recently travelled from neighbouring DR Congo, where one of the world’s most complex and prolonged Ebola outbreaks has been unfolding. That link has allowed Ugandan teams to focus on screening, tracing and isolating high-risk contacts, a strategy that has helped contain previous incursions of the virus.

The WHO continues to classify the risk to Uganda as high, largely because of the long, porous frontier it shares with DR Congo and the constant movement of traders, refugees and family visitors. Yet the agency has stopped short of recommending border closures or broader travel bans, warning that such measures can drive movement underground and undermine surveillance.

Instead, international and national experts have backed Uganda’s approach of intensive screening at official crossing points, rapid testing, and the deployment of specialized treatment units near the border. Health workers have been trained to recognize symptoms quickly, while community leaders and local radio stations have been enlisted to spread messages about early reporting and safe burials.

Museveni’s address balanced cautious optimism with a reminder of the country’s hard-won experience. Uganda has confronted multiple Ebola and Marburg outbreaks over the past two decades, building a reputation for swift detection and coordinated response. For now, the president’s message is that the “fire” may be dying down, but the watch must continue until the last ember is out.