Nine frontline health workers infected with Covid-19 as cases rise to 593

The Ministry of Health on Saturday reported 36 new Covid-19 infections as Uganda’s total number of confirmed cases rose to 593.
The new cases were part of 1,310 samples that were tested on Friday, according to Dr Charles Olaro, the director general health services.

All the new cases are Ugandans who were either reported as alerts or contacts of people who previously tested positive for coronavirus.
They include nine frontline health workers from Kampala, 15 residents of Kyotera and eight residents of Yumbe District. The rest were picked from the areas of Mayuge, Pader and Buvuma.

The nine frontline workers brings the number of health workers who have tested positive for the virus to 17, further adding to the stress the health workers and general population is going through.

Doctors under the Uganda Medical Association have in the past attributed the health workers’ infections to the poor training of frontline officers who are placed in Covid-19 treatment wards and inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PEP).

The rise in the number of community cases is a cause for concern according to health ministry officials.
Dr Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary says they are worried the disease can easily spread now.

"Spread of the disease is now going to be easy with the more cases we are getting. Someone can easily get in touch in the community and spread the disease," she said.

The health ministry has previously been concentrating on testing truck drivers to stop the spread of the disease in communities where they normally make stops. However, experts say it was hard to control the movement of drivers because in some cases they provided false information which made tracking them difficult.

As of today, 82 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals across the country.