Keep the momentum in Covid-19 fight

Following the announcement by the Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng that the third wave of Covid-19 triggered by Omicron variant has ended, this opens up an important transition that the health authorities need to handle with as much vigour and as much information as was displayed at the outbreak of the pandemic in Uganda two years ago.

Much, in terms of resources, has been sunk into the fight against Covid-19. The toll has also been heavy in terms of loss of lives and disruption to livelihoods, not to mention the lost time in the education sector. This is why it is important to have a mop up campaign that involves a research and information plan that properly explains the decline in infections, illness, coupled with a watertight prevention campaign that seeks to ensure the gains made will not unravel at the slightest change in circumstances.

So far, statistics show a low positivity rate at just about 1 percent, with only a few pockets of infections across the country and no district in alert or response phase. Several explanations have been given for the downward trend in Covid-19 spread and infection. There are mixed opinions among scientists as to the true cause of the decline in Covid-19 infections. This is a good starting point for us, not to take the trends for granted but commission studies that will inform future actions against any resurgence or other pandemics.

Let us also continue to pay attention to strengthening the infrastructure for supply of key protective materials, treatment facilities and the capacity for intensive care of the sick as well as the supply of crucial life-saving oxygen, among other items.

Sensitisation has proven an effective tool in combating widespread disease as in the case of HIV/Aids. This is a tool that the health ministry and partner agencies should continue to embrace to not only foster trust in the effectiveness of prevention and cure remedies but also continuously remind the public to be on their guard, until a further point in the future when we can guarantee that we have seen the last of the Covid-19 pandemic.

All lessons learnt should be preserved and at this crucial point in the fight to contain the pandemic, we should ensure that we do not lose momentum or gains made. 

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