Uganda’s Covid-19 cases rise to 649 as more frontline health workers test positive
As the country struggles to combat further spread of the virus, the rising number of cases among frontline health workers has without a doubt got a number of people concerned.
The Ministry of Health has reported 30 new Covid-19 cases with four more frontline health workers and three security personnel testing positive for the virus.
This pushes the country’s tally of Covid-19 cases to 646. The total number of frontline health workers who have so far tested positive currently stands at 22.
According the results announced on Monday, five out of the thirty new cases are truck drivers who arrived via Elegu and Busia border points, three security personnel while eighteen are alerts and contacts to previously confirmed cases from Amuru, Tororo, Buikwe, Kyankwanzi, Arua, Buliisa, Kisoro, Wakiso and Kampala districts.
Additional, 51 foreign truck drivers who tested positive for the virus were handed over to the authorities of the countries of origin. These were from Kenya (43), Tanzania (4), Tanzania (4), Burundi (3) and Eritrea (1).
The total number of recoveries cuurently stands at 103 with no fatalities registered yet due to the disease.
As the country struggles to combat further spread of the virus, the rising number of cases among frontline health workers has without a doubt got a number of people concerned. This among many reasons is attributed to shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the frontline healthworkers therefore exposing them to the infection.
In an interview with NTV on Sunday, the health ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr Diana Atwine, admitted that there is indeed a shortage in the PPE. She said those who tested positive are receiving treatment from Entebbe Grade B Hospital.
“They are consumptive, we bring each time and they use so they can never be enough, we are in the process of procuring more,” she said.
“Our worry is that when more people get infected others get demoralised and that’s why we keep engaging and counselling them. We want to tell the health workers out there that we do appreciate their contribution and encourage them to stay in the cause,” she added.
