31 new COVID-19 cases registered as Uganda eases lockdown
May 26, 2020
Minutes before midnight, the Ministry of Health announced that 23 new cases had been recorded at the points of entry while eight cases were registered from contacts of previously confirmed truck drivers.
"Slippery situation now." These were the words of one of the followers of New Vision on social media shortly after breaking the news about Uganda recording 31 news cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday night.
Minutes before midnight, the Ministry of Health announced that 23 new cases had been recorded at the points of entry while eight cases were registered from contacts of previously confirmed truck drivers.
"Today, May 26, 2020, 31 new COVID-19 cases confirmed. The total confirmed cases are now 253," the ministry announced through Twitter.
The new cases were confirmed on the same day the Government eased lockdown by allowing private vehicles back on the roads - apart from roads in districts bordering neighbouring countries.
Although the private cars were allowed to move, by Tuesday night hundreds of them were impounded by the Police for breaking the curfew directive.
Days earlier, health experts warned Ugandans "not to throw caution to the wind but continue to practise safety measures, bearing in mind that the pandemic is still amidst us".
The good news is that all the contacts (the eight who tested positive on Tuesday) of truck drivers were under quarantine at the time of testing.
According to the ministry, 20 positive foreign truck drivers (16 Tanzanians and four Kenyans) were handed over to their countries of origin.
The ministry further posted: "Total COVID-19 recoveries: 69. Samples from points of entry tested today: 896. Samples from community and contacts: 220. Total samples tested today: 1,116."