Coronavirus: Situation will worsen before it improves 

COVID-19

KAMPALA - The cases of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 in Uganda are expected to rise before the situation improves.

Different experts say the outbreak of COVID-19 in European countries was reported in February. The reported cases were one or two or three or four cases initially, but today the numbers have increased to thousands.

In addition, African countries reported the first cases of COVID-19 early this month and the numbers are increasing, according to an expert in the Ministry of Health.

The health ministry reported Uganda's first case of the coronavirus on March 15. In the last two weeks, the numbers of people that have been infected with COVID-19 increased from 1 to 9 and then 13 and 18. From 18, the number increased to 23 before shooting up to 33 Sunday.

"The situation in Uganda is likely to worsen before it can improve," said an expert within the Ministry of Health who did not want to be named.

Efforts by New Vision to get a comment from Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the director-general of health services and Dr. Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, were futile as repeated calls to their phones went unanswered.

The Ministry of Health spokesperson, Emma Ainebyona, said he could not predict what was likely to happen in the near future or in the long term. 

However, he said a lot would depend on tracing and testing of the suspected cases. "We have tested many people and most of the results have turned out to be negative," he said, adding that they were following up cases that have had contact with patients of COVID-19.

He also said the disease has been imported into the country and it is important to follow up on the patients and their contacts.

In a separate interview, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, the Minister for Primary Healthcare, said it is important to implement the directives of President Museveni in order to deter the spread of the disease.

"Stay at home," she said, adding that COVID-19 does not move but is being moved by people.

Malaria drug could help fight coronavirus — French expert

Meanwhile, the controversial French professor who believes the antimalaria drug chloroquine can help beat the coronavirus has claimed that a new study he has conducted confirms its "efficiency" at combatting the virus. But several other scientists and critics of microbiologist Didier Raoult, who heads the infectious diseases department of La Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France were quick to cast doubt on his findings.

They said the testing was not carried out in a controlled study and that the results were purely "observational".

Dr. Raoult, whose theory has been taken up by US President Donald Trump, said his new study of 80 patients showed that four out of five of those treated with the drug had "favourable" outcomes. 

He had earlier reported that after treating 24 patients for six days with hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, the virus disappeared in all, but a quarter of them. 

The research has not yet been peer-reviewed nor formally published in any medical journal, AFP reported yesterday. malnutrition.