Govt reburies Covid-19 victim in Namisindwa

The Health minister, Dr Ruth Jane Aceng. PHOTO/ FILE

What you need to know:

  • Government on July 23 confirmed the first case of Covid-19 death in the country.

The Health minister, Dr Ruth Jane Aceng, yesterday said they corrected burial of the first Covid-19 death, which was conducted in Namisindwa after reports that the body was exposed.
Dr Aceng said Mbale has trained burial teams and do not have to wait for Ministry of Health to support them in burying a Covid-19 case.
She denied claims that the Namisindwa body was eaten by dogs.

“The deceased was buried properly except that the terrain is a bit difficult. And when there was rain, the body was exposed. It is not true that dogs descended on the body. The burial was corrected. We should leave the dead to rest in peace,” Dr Aceng said while addressing the media on coronavirus updates at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation offices in Kampala.
Government on July 23 confirmed the first case of Covid-19 death in the country.
The deceased, a 34-year-old Ugandan female from Namisindwa District in eastern Uganda, passed on July 21 at a clinic in Mbale District. Results from the analysis of samples taken from the deceased to four laboratories, turned out positive for the contagious viral disease.

Dr Aceng also said they had received reports that Rubaga hospital was prepared to test Covid-19 suspects and has an intensive care unit to handle emergencies.
She, however, added that the ministry had not received requests from the hospital and warned against allowing any facility to work on coronavirus cases without control because management will be blown out of proportion.

“I have been seeing a statement from Rubaga saying they now have an isolation facility and are ready to treat Covid-19. I want to remind Rubaga that procedures must be followed. For laboratories, there is an accreditation committee.
“As long as they are not accredited and we have not standardised their lab, we cannot recognise them. They must write to us, we assess and accredit. We run a big risk of not controlling our activities. The cases will grow out of proportion. As it is right now, send the patients to the right facilities,” she said.
She said there is a possibility of reinstating the lockdown if the public continues without observing the preventive measures.

“We have not yet concluded the lockdown. The churches are not yet open. mobile markets and schools are not yet open. The lockdown gave us an opportunity to put in place measures to control the outbreak, enabled us suppress transmission to be able to handle what is coming in now. “We are still on phase three of lifting the lockdown. We had thought at lifting the lockdown in phases looking at the need and economic contribution. Until we conclude stage four, we can’t talk about lockdown,” Dr Aceng added.