On November 18, Soroti Catholic diocese will hold a memorial Mass for the victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commemoration and thanksgiving Mass will be conducted at Fr Hilders Primary School in Soroti city, said vicar general Msgr Robert Echogu in a November 7 letter.

Between the beginning of 2020 (when the world went into lockdown) and today, Uganda has registered a total of 171,983 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 3,632 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

The majority of the cases were recorded in 2020 and 2021.

There have been no new cases in Uganda in the last seven days, according to the global COVID-19 tracker.

As of today, more than 771 million coronavirus cases have been registered around the world, with over 6.9 million deaths.

Uganda, like the rest of the world, was boxed into an existence of restrictions at a personal and institutional level during the lockdown, aimed at curbing the spread of the deadly virus.

Because of travel and crowd restrictions at the time, many of the dead were not laid to rest the way they would have been in normal times. Numbers at burials were restricted to avoid infections.

As such, Soroti Catholic diocese wants to pay tribute to the victims.

“Given the prevalent situation then, most of them (COVID-19 dead) were not accorded a befitting send-off. There is a need to hold a commemoration Mass for them all," said Echogu in his letter.

'Diligent handmaids'

During the Mass, a thanksgiving prayer will also be said for the thousands who healed from the deadly virus.

Among the people invited for the thanksgiving Mass is Dr John Wilson Etolu of Soroti Regional Referral Hospital and his team, for their tireless efforts in tending to the sick during the pandemic.

“The diocese appreciates the role you and your team played as diligent handmaids of God in fighting for the lives of our people," said Echogu.

"The diocese is, therefore, inviting you and your team to join in the commemoration and thanksgiving Mass."