One of Uganda’s leading telecom companies, MTN said they had launched
special data bundles of Shs2, 000 to allow its subscribers work from
home, valid from 9 am to 5 pm in attempt to prevent the spread of
coronavirus.
The telecom giant also said they had scrapped charges on
mobile money transactions for the amounts of Shs20,000 and above in an
attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“You must have
realised that today (Thursday), any money sent via MTN that is beyond
Shs20,000 is sent freely. This is because we want to avoid the handling
of shilling notes that could aid the spread of coronavirus,” the
company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Wim Vanhelleputte told journalists
in Kampala.
He also said the company had set aside Shs500 million
which would be invested in efforts against the spread of the virus that
has claimed the lives of 9,020 people across 157 countries and
territories, according to a tally compiled by AFP from official sources.
By Thursday afternoon, Uganda’s ministry of health had not reported any confirmed case.
The number of novel coronavirus cases globally stood at 217,510.
“Starting
this afternoon via our SMS channels, we shall relay messages from the
Ministry of Health on how to prevent the spread of coronavirus but also,
symptoms to look out for,” Mr Vanhelleputte added.
In his national
address on the spread of the disease, President Museveni on Wednesday
said with money in markets and banks, the Ministry of Health would
publish special operating procedures governing money transactions,
including disinfecting the coins, using mobile money and using online
purchases, among others.
“Once you avoid open coughing and
sneezing and you wash your hands regularly, then you will not
contaminate the surfaces ─ the tables, the door handles etc. Therefore,
your hands do not pollute the surfaces,” he said.
Between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, there were 236 new deaths reported and 8,015 new cases globally.
The
tallies, using data collected by AFP offices from national authorities
and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), take into
account the fact that criteria for counting victims and coronavirus
screening practices vary from country to country.
China —
excluding Hong Kong and Macau — where the outbreak emerged in late
December, has to date declared 80,928 cases, including 3,245 deaths,
with 69,601 people recovered. The country declared 34 new cases and
eight new fatalities since Wednesday.
Outside China, there have been
5,775 deaths by Thursday afternoon — 228 new fatalities — out of
136,590 cases, of which 7,981 were new.
The worst-hit nation after
China is Italy with a total of 2,978 deaths (35,713 cases), Iran with
1,284 fatalities (17,361 cases), Spain with 598 deaths (13,716 cases)
and France with 264 deaths (9,134 cases).
Since 1700 GMT Wednesday,
Pakistan, Russia, Costa Rica and Mexico confirmed their first deaths.
Mauritius, Barbados, Zambia, Fiji, the Bahamas, El Salvador and
Nicaragua all reported their first cases.
