Uganda Held a Marathon for 25,000 People During an Ebola Outbreak

The Ugandan health ministry has rejected claims that a packed marathon event held over the weekend will worsen the spread of Ebola.

Tagged the “Run for Babies,” Sunday’s marathon in Kampala, which attracted an estimated 25,000 runners, was held to support maternity facilities across the country. But it comes as two central districts, Mubende and Kasanda, are currently under lockdown to curb the spread, while many schools have closed and other sporting events have been postponed.

Photos of the marathon on social media show huge, tightly packed crowds in the capital, a city that has recorded 17 Ebola cases and two deaths in recent weeks. Top government officials, including Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary of the Uganda Ministry of Health, were at the race, clearly in close contact with others, prompting criticism.

“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?” prominent opposition politician and musician Bobi Wine tweeted after the event. “It is a shame that they have made a joke of everything, including public health!”

Officials though are claiming there’s no cause for panic. “With the screening measures in place at the MTN Kampala Marathon, no participant displayed any symptoms,” a statement from the health ministry read on Monday, adding that symptomatic Ebola patients who are known to spread the disease “can barely engage in activities like running and aerobics.”

But those at Sunday’s marathon say there were zero screening measures in place, except for regular metal detectors that would not be useful in detecting the Ebola virus. 

“All they said is a lie,” Godwin Toko, who ran in the marathon, told VICE World News. “There was nothing health related to the screening. In fact, there were no health personnel at hand…save for the Red Cross that was at hand to help with emergencies.” 

Uganda’s health ministry did not respond to a request for comment about the marathon.

At least 55 of 141 infected people have died since the country declared an Ebola epidemic on the 19th of September, and hundreds more are being watched for symptoms. The disease spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons. There aren’t authorized vaccines for the Sudan strain that's currently circulating in the country, unlike in the case of the Zaire strain that spread in the DRC this year. But World Health Organisation officials have hinted that vaccine trials targeting the Sudan strain could start in Uganda as early as this month. 

Uganda has managed to contain the disease within its territory so far, but tourism is declining because of the outbreak. Earlier this month, President Yoweri Museveni appealed to sceptical visitors in a televised address. “Government is doing all it takes to control this epidemic and avoid exportation outside Uganda,” Museveni said. “Uganda remains safe and we welcome international guests.”