Two NRM secretariat staff test positive for Covid-19

Two staff at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) secretariat have tested positive for Covid-19.

This was revealed by the party’s secretary general, Ms Kasule Lumumba, in a tweet and a facebook post.

“This morning, two of our key staff at the NRM Secretariat tested positive for Covid-19 and have been admitted to the Hospital for proper care. We are working with the technical people and further guidance to be given in due course. I urge everyone to stay alert, healthy and safe,” she said in a post.

Ms Lumumba’s communication came hours after the Ministry of Health had confirmed five new cases of Covid-19 from tests carried out on Tuesday.

The two cases also come a day after President Museveni’s visit to the secretariat on Tuesday where he was nominated as the party’s the national chairman and presidential flag bearer for the forthcoming 2021 elections.

While there, Mr Museveni revealed that he called in Ministry of Health experts on Sunday to test for Covid-19 after developing a sore throat and hoarse voice. He, however, said that his samples tested negative thus being able to appear in public again.

The President used the same platform to sound a warning to Ugandans who have somewhat become complacent to the health guidelines, that there could be more Covid-19 related deaths if people continue being adamant.

Commenting on the two Covid-19 deaths that Uganda has so far registered, Mr Museveni said the two victims could have been saved, had they reported to the health facility early enough.

Last week, a 34 year-old resident of Namisindwa District in eastern Uganda became the first case of confirmed Covid-19-related death despite not having been diagnosed with the disease prior to her death. However, when a post-mortem was done, it was discovered that she had succumbed to Covid-19. The second victim was an 80-year-old woman, a resident of Kisenyi in Kampala.

“If you wanted to see deaths, now you have seen them. We have been begging you, please don’t die. People wanted to see danger but now you have seen, so if you don’t listen, we are going to do a lot of work,” he said.

As of July 29, 2020, the total number of confirmed cases in Uganda stands at 1,140 with 1028 recoveries.