Local leaders who escaped from Arua quarantine centre found

COVID-19 |

Two local leaders in Arua and Maracha, who escaped from a quarantine centre after testing positive for COVID-19, have been traced and put under treatment. 

The two were part of a group of National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders from various districts of West Nile who had been put under quarantine at Arua Prisons Primary School on Wednesday, but left the place without discharge certificates from the health ministry.

They allegedly cited lack of food and delayed return of their results as the reason they fled the quarantine centre.

The 12 leaders had been placed under institutional quarantine upon their return from the NRM secretariat in Kampala where they attended a flag off ceremony for motorcycle distribution for the district party mobilisers. 

On return, two of the colleagues they travelled with in the same bus tested positive for COVID-19.

The results released on Thursday indicated that two of the leaders, who escaped from quarantine, tested positive; one from Maracha and the other from Arua districts. 

The duo have now been traced and recalled for treatment. 

Paul Bishop Drileba, the Arua acting district health officer, confirmed that the patients are currently being managed by the case management team at one of the treatment centres in the area.

The health ministry on Thursday announced that contacts of persons who have tested positive for COVID-19 will no longer be tested or quarantined unless they show signs and symptoms.

Dr Charles Olaro, the director of clinical services at the ministry, said the tests will only be limited to people who show signs and symptoms of the virus. 

"We are going to change our criteria of people to test by limiting it to only people who have got symptoms. So even if you have been a contact and you do not have the symptoms and signs and you do not meet the test definition you will not undergo the test," he said.

To date, Uganda has recorded 7,064 cases and 70 deaths. This is inclusive of results got from tests done on September 23. The results revealed 185 new cases and one death from Kisoro district.

Regarding the 185 new cases,  Kampala recorded 55, Omoro 23, Kapchorwa 14, Mukono 12, Apac 10, Gulu (7), Mbale (7), Sironko (7), Rakai (6), Masaka (6), Butaleja (5) Arua (4), Jinja (4), Terego (4), Oyam (3), Bundibugyo (2), Nwoya (2), Sheema (2) and Lira (2). 

Bushenyi, Ibanda, Isingiro, Kaberamaido, Kayunga, Kisoro, Tororo, Wakiso and Zombo districts, recorded one case each. One returnee from India also tested positive for COVID-19.