Kampala registers 145 corona cases in six days
As the country continues to grapple with Covid-19, Kampala has registered 145 cases of the deadly disease in a period of six days.
On Thursday last week, Dr Ruth Jane Aceng, the Health minister, said Covid-19 cases in Kampala stood at 104.
However, 145 new cases through alerts and contacts have since been confirmed in the capital city, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases to 249 in the country’s busiest district as of yesterday.
Kampala has since joined Amuru, Kyotera, Tororo, Buikwe, and Namisindwa as districts recording the highest rates of transmission.
Experts say the Covid-19 cases in the capital is due to the city being the centre of business, but also people’s non-compliance with the anti-Covid-19 guidelines
Dr Charles Olaro, the director of curative services at the Ministry of Health, said Kampala is a transit point, with thousands of people entering the city for business on a daily basis.
Dr Olaro added that despite its population size, people in Kampala do not respect Covid-19 guidelines, which puts them at risk.
“Kampala’s population is about 1.6 million people and those are the ones who reside here… there is no social distancing, no putting on masks so if you combine all those factors, it amplifies the risk..,” he said.
According to the National Population and Housing Census of 2014, as of 2016, Kampala Capital City was the most populous urban centre in Uganda with 1.5 million people.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) strategic Plan 2014/2015-2018/2019 states that the urban informal sector in Kampala consists all economic activities outside the formal institutional framework. Trade is by far the most important activity, with 72 per cent of population employed in the informal sector, manufacturing (23 per cent), among others.
Dr Daniel Okello, the director of public health and environment at KCCA, told this newspaper last week that there is going to be a challenge when the population does not abide by the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Health ministry.
Dr Okello said with the phased easing of the lockdown, SOPs have been violated and the degree of vigilance has reduced.
“Boda bodas, salons, and public transport were reopened, when you look at arcades, salons; what do they have in common - congregation of people,” Dr Okello said.
He added: “Much as government trusted the people to follow the procedures on their own, probably some people have ignored them. In most countries, after reopening high-risk areas, there was an increase in numbers of cases.”
As of yesterday, Uganda registered 53 new cases with one death, bringing the total number of cases to 1,656, with16 deaths and 1,188 recoveries.
Of the 16 deaths, at least 11 of them are from Kampala.
Dr Okello has called upon everyone to join the fight against Covid-19 as government cannot be everywhere.
“So in Kampala, if we do not follow the SOPs, we are going to have a challenge. We are not following SOPs, although people have been given masks. In March and April, people were diligently following the SOPs, you would go to the market and the traders would not let you in unless you washed your hands,” Dr Okello said.
Dr Aceng said the increase in the number of cases means more work and hence fatigue on the side of health workers.
“If you don’t want to get or die of coronavirus, can you please put on your mask properly? It is not a necklace, it is not an earring, it must cover the nose and mouth,” Dr Aceng said.
“Also maintain your social distance, don’t assume that because you have covered your nose you can now interact freely, no, because your eyes are exposed and hands still available,” she added.
