Ministry of Health (MOH) says 23 of the confirmed cases are from truck drivers, while 17 were contacts of truck drivers. Additionally, 31 foreign drivers were sent back to their countries of origin, bringing the total number of exited drivers to 437.
The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Uganda has risen to 457 today after 40 samples tested positive yesterday. The 40 samples were part of 1,319 samples that were tested from different points of entry.
Ministry of Health (MOH) says 23 of the confirmed cases are from truck drivers who arrived into the country from South Sudan, vila Elegu and Tanzania, via Mutukula border posts. The other 17 were contacts of truck drivers from the areas of Gulu, Jinja, Amudat, Wakiso, Amuru, Zombo and Nebbi.
Additionally, 31 foreign drivers were sent back to their countries of origin, bringing the total number of exited drivers to 437. Those returned today include 11 Tanzanian drivers, 19 Kenyans and I Eritrean.
The new cases come after seven health workers tested positive for the disease a few days ago. Reports from the area indicate that admissions from Lira treatment centre suddenly went up to 21 cases within a space of five days, yet the team that was deployed at the facility had just completed training and had no expertise in managing coronavirus disease
It was also discovered that the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), especially the KN95 they were using at the facility was loosely fitting which could have exposed the front-liners who are now receiving treatment at the Entebbe Referral Hospital.
However, Dr Jane Ruth Acheng, the Minister of Health warned that health workers need to be more vigilant and not take anything for granted to avoid making mistakes.
While the numbers are soaring, experts are also warning that unless countries across the world act together now, the COVID-19 pandemic will cause “unimaginable devastation and suffering around the world.
Painting a picture of the 60 million people pushed into extreme poverty; famine of “historic proportions”, some 1.6 billion people left without livelihoods, and a loss of USD 8.5 trillion in global output – the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s – the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres says the world needs a response with unity and solidarity.
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