What we know about Mityana's first COVID-19 case

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

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,"  Muganga, who is also the spokesperson of the district's COVID-19 taskforce, said.

The victim was identified Thursday evening and immediately rushed to hospital in an isolation centre.

Following the development, the district taskforce immediately set out to trace all the contacts of the patient.

 "We have taken his father into quarantine at his home and we are monitoring him. We have also started tracing any other people he [the patient] may have had contact with," said Muganga.

Mityana resident district commissioner Isha Ntumwa said they had resolved to halt any discharges from the male ward in the hospital until they get samples from all the people there for COVID-19 testing.

"We are watching all these people and we shall not discharge them until we get samples. When they leave, they will be asked to remain at their homes in quarantine until we confirm their results," he said.

Ntumwa said the medics who had served in the ward during the period when the victim accessed it are also in quarantine.

"We want to make sure that our people remain safe and we are happy that have learnt all the movements of the victims, which is making it easy for us to get the contacts. He used a taxi while returning to Mityana and then a bodaboda to the hospital. We shall get all these people," he vowed.

Rude awakening

Residents have been cautioned not to let their guard down and observe the measures intended to prevent the spread of the virus.

ICT and national guidance minister Judith Nabakooba, who is also the Mityana Woman MP, said this one case in Mityana is enough to confirm that the pandemic is still dangerous.

 "It is a pity that we have registered a case yet he has been in contact with others. Let us remain careful as we abide by what is being told to us," she said.

Joseph Kawuki, Buganda's state minister for local government, expressed concern over laxity among the people, warning that it may result into further spread of the virus.

He said the phased easing of the lockdown led some sections of the public to let their guard down.

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.