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Prisons nationwide have implemented visitation restrictions across several holding facilities.

The move according to the Uganda Prisons Service, is aimed at stemming the spread of the red eye disease which broke out in the prisons recently.

Red eye disease aka conjunctivitis, according to Healthline, happens when the membrane covering the insides of your eyelids and the white part of your eye, called the conjunctiva, becomes inflamed. This condition is also called pink eye. Inflammation of the conjunctiva causes the whites of your eyes to appear pink or red.

Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine on Monday, April 8, 2024, disclosed that the impacted facilities, including Upper Prison, Murchison Bay, Kagadi, Gulu Main, Kampala Remand, Kamuli, Kigo, Luzira Women, Bamunanika, Jinja Main, Nakasongola, Kiwuga, Bututumula, and Kitalya.

Baine conveyed this information during a media briefing at the Police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala.

According to Baine, the disease has affected a total of 5,905 inmates across various prisons, with 4,704 individuals having since recovered.

However, 1,204 active cases remain under observation.

"The precautionary measures, including visitation restrictions, aim to contain the spread of the disease within prison facilities nationwide," Baine said, adding that authorities continue to monitor the situation closely as efforts to manage the outbreak.