Coronavirus in Kampala: Minister Amongi raises red flag

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, Betty Amongi, has sounded a fresh alert on the coronavirus situation in Kampala, saying there is "gross non-adherence to the COVID-19 standard operating procedures [SOPs]" in public transport and workplaces.

Speaking at the Uganda Media Centre on Friday, Amongi underlined that offices and workshops are where most infections are being registered.

She added that arcades remain high-risk areas as a result of noncompliance to "simple preventive measures".

As of Thursday, Uganda has recorded a total number of 1,750 Ugandans infected with COVID-19. As many as 1,194 have recovered from the disease, according to Ministry of Health information.

The grim part of this story is that 19 people have died from coronavirus in the country.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the KCCA Public Health Direrectorate has issued notices to the non-compliant arcades to ensure full compliance to the SOPs within seven days. After that period has elapsed, stringent sanctions will be imposed on noncompliant arcades.

"We have decided to issue a weekly advisory to alert the public about areas with high incidences of COVID-19 within the city and the metropolitan areas," Minister Amongi told reporters.

"We are alerting the public of these high-risk areas to allow them to make informed decisions and avoid these areas."

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) public health department is tasked with managing the COVID-19 situation in the city.

On a daily basis, this team does the following:

- Receive calls from residents of Kampala and metropolitan areas to report when someone shows COVID 19 symptoms.

- Verify such alerts or calls made to the call centre. Picking up and testing anyone with symptoms, at no cost.

- Trace contacts of people who interacted with people affected by COVID-19 and follow up in order to reduce the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile, Mityana district has registered its first COVID-19 case - a 25-year-old male resident of Mityana Municipality.

Edward Muganga, the district information officer, confirmed the development and said the victim had frequented Mityana Hospital, where he was attending to his sick father. In fact, he was at the facility by the time his results were established.

"Our team is carefully handling the matter," New Vision's reporter Luke Kagiri quoted Muganga as saying.

______________________________

The arcades in Kampala that are not comforming to the standard operating procedures