KAMPALA – With Uganda confirming eight more positive cases of the deadly coronavirus, questions have emerged as to what the Ministry of Health did not do right in preventing the emergence of the cases.
As of Saturday, Uganda had only one case of coronavirus, but the number rose to nine on Tuesday morning, with many Ugandans fearing that this could be higher.
The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, announced that all the cases are of Ugandan nationals. “All the cases are Ugandan nationals from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates aboard the Emirates and Ethiopian Airlines which brings the total number to 9,” she announced.
Dr Aceng has now appealed to all travelers who have been to Dubai in the recent past to “immediately call the toll free number for further follow-up.”
But a section of Ugandans is wondering why the government did not do isolate all the people who travelled from Dubai last week. They fear that such people may have already spread the virus inland given that they were allowed to self-isolate.
While Dr Aceng explained that the travellers were not intercepted at the airport because Dubai was not identified as a potential risk country according to the global rankings, many members of the public said government should not have trusted the global rankings.
Murungi Stella said: “But planes don’t go to only Dubai, and people who board are usually from other countries as well. Or if one was positive, how do you free those with him. It was intentional. But we shall die all of us.”
Matega Rosie posted: “They get the virus from the planes. All the first victims in every African country are imported cases from people that have travelled from abroad. So whoever has someone from abroad just run for a while. UAE didn’t lie but they picked the virus from the planes.”
Keneema Jackie said: “Corona has been in Dubai since last month and they don’t give accurate information to scare people.”
The President is on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, expected to announce more measures to contain the pandemic that has so far claimed lives of 15,482 people worldwide.
But Ugandans urged the President to introduce measures that will help the people financially.
Emmanuel Mutaizibwa, an investigations editor at NTV Uganda said: “An Italian priest ailing with the virus gave his respirator to a young man and later died. If government wants to display its Luwero credentials today, it must be selfless like the Italian priest and put in place measures that will uplift the underclass in such trying times!”
