Medic celebrates COVID-19 status

HEALTH VIRUS

After supervising activities at the Kamuli district COVID-19 isolation centre, Edith Bogere, 42, feared that she would get infected with the virus.

However, the Kamuli Hospital staff tested negative after 29 of her colleagues were found positive.

Bogere, who heads the frontline team at the Kamuli COVID-19 isolation unit, told Christians at Victory Christian Centre in Kamuli town on Sunday that it is a miracle that she was found negative.

Bogere, who doubles as the Kamuli district surveillance focal person for COVID-19, said: "Over 180 medics underwent compulsory testing and 29, including the support staff, tested positive. God performed a miracle for me. My results were negative," she said.

Kamuli Hospital was last week closed after 24 medics and seven support staff tested positive for COVID-19, but Bogere, despite having been in the isolation unit every day since March, tested negative.

Bogere has been responding to alerts, checking and assessing the patients, taking patient's swabs, holding crisis meetings with staff and the health ministry officials.

She has been freely interacting with suspected cases and those on treatment.

Bogere also documents the recommendations, prescribes drugs and leaves the dispensing to her subordinates.

The positive medics are undergoing treatment in the isolation unit, while others are in quarantine centres, the district health officer, Dr Fred Duku, said.

The closure of the hospital saw hundreds of ailing patients leave the facility to go back home.

The unit has so far responded to over 500 community alerts, treated over 160 COVID-19 related cases and registered four deaths, Dr Duku said.