By Spy Uganda
Several Ugandans who expected the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown to be lifted very soon are starting to get worried after the Ministry of Health reported that cases of infection are increasing and that so far Uganda has registered 100 infections.
The worrying revelation was made by officials from the Ministry of Health, who tweeted thus; “2 new COVID-19 case confirmed from 3,071 samples of truck drivers. The 2 new cases arrived from Kenya via Malaba; and are Eritrean and Kenyan nationalities. 438 community samples have tested negative for COVID-19. COVID-19 confirmed cases: 100.”
It should be noted that during his most recent National Address on Coronavirus held Tuesday May 5, 2020, President Yoweri Museveni extended the COVID-19lockdown for two more weeks ending on May 18, 2020, after the Ministry of Health observed that the new infections are coming in from truck drivers, yet they cannot be stopped from delivering cargo.
So as a way of preventing COVID-19 infections brought into the country by truck drivers from neighbouring countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and others, the Ministry of Health has instituted several measures to curtail the entrance of truck drivers into Uganda before they are first screened for COVID-19 and declared free of the virus.
But it should be noted that despite the rise in the numbers of confirmed infections, the number of COVID-19 recoveries in Uganda currently stands at 55, something that has helped the MoH officials to keep the infections at a manageable level.
It should be noted that an outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) was declared by the People’s Republic of China on 31st January, 2020. The outbreak later spread to all continents and over 46 countries have since been affected, with thousands of deaths registered across the globe.
In Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Nigeria have already reported deaths, whereas Uganda has fortunately registered none. The possibility of spread to other African countries is extremely high.
But despite all this, our Spies within the Ministry of Health reveal that; “Uganda has a robust health sector development plan that seeks to, among other goals accelerate movement towards Universal Health Coverage with essential health and related services needed for promotion of a healthy and productive life.”
They add that; “The health of the population is central to the socioeconomic development of the country. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly threatens to undermine and derail the gains the country has achieved in improving the health and social-economic development of Uganda.
To ensure that the country responds adequately and mitigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health (MOH) embarked on the development of these guidelines through a consultative, participatory and transparent process with the involvement of all stakeholders.”
