Coronavirus in Uganda: Ministry of Health through its permanent secretary Diana Atwine want lockdown extended for three more weeks
Is Uganda going to extend the Coronavirus lockdown? Information coming in from the Ministry of Health indicates that it would require at least three more weeks to properly determine the full extent of the COVID-19 in the country.
As of today, Monday 13th April, Uganda has a total of 54 confirmed COVID -19 cases. Of these four have already been cleared free of the virus and the ministry discharged them from Entebbe Grade B hospital on Saturday.
Earlier today the ministry through the Deputy COVID-19 Incident Manager, Dr Atek Kagirita confirmed that they are set to discharge 15 more patients who now have tested negative of the virus.
These added to the four who were discharged earlier will mean that Uganda as a country shall be left with only 35 infected persons of the virus in case no more new cases are confirmed.
With President Museveni set to address the nation on Tuesday at mid-day about the coronavirus pandemic in Uganda, many people have proposed for the calling off of the lockdown implying that the virus has not affected them as first thought.
On March 20, Museveni declared a 14-day lockdown to mitigate the spread of coronavirus in the country. The lockdown set to expire on Tuesday midnight will mean that locals are free to return to their daily routine and cars will be free to move on roads and works also resume.
However, in a statement released by the Ministry of Health permanent secretary Diana Atwine via twitter, it is not the right time for the country to call off the lockdown.
Atwine who is first to say that the country cannot suspend the lockdown basing on a few numbers adds they still have a huge task to play in ensuring that they get all potential virus suspects including the cargo truck drivers tracked, monitored and tested fully.
As a result, she proposes at least an additional 21 days – three weeks before the country can determine their next direction in eradicating the deadly coronavirus.
“It is still too early to conclude based on these numbers. Our strategy is to get all potential people infected including the truck drivers that cross in whom we are focusing on now. The next 3 weeks will determine the direction we take. Stay safe,” Atwine’s statement read on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the deadly virus first discovered in Wuhan, China continues to claim lives globally with the Worldwide death toll now more than 114,000, and the number of confirmed cases nears 1.9 million according to Johns Hopkins University.
United States has surpassed Italy as the country with the highest number of coronavirus deaths with nearly 22,000 recorded by early Monday and 554,007 cases, according to NBC News figures.
After a fall in daily death tolls, Spain and Italy, two countries hard-hit by the virus, were set to begin easing lockdown measures on Monday.
