Uganda’s coronavirus cases have risen to 44 after 11 members of Watoto Children's Choir who were under quarantine tested positive today. Of the 176 samples tested all the 11 positive samples were of Watoto. Yesterday no positive case was recorded following the testing of 82 samples.
“All these were children of the Watoto choir who are still in quarantine. They picked it from outside where they had gone,” Museveni said during a briefing to the nation.
Although Museveni said in his address that the latest 11 cases were all children, details released by ministry of Health show that only 6 of these are children.
They include 9-year-old Ugandan female a resident of Suubi Watoto village who arrived from the UK, 7-year-old Ugandan female resident of Suubi Watoto village who arrived from UK, 10-year-old Ugandan female and resident of Suubi Watoto village, 10-year-old Ugandan female a resident of Suubi Watoto village and is a contact to a previously confirmed case, 9-year-old Ugandan male a resident of Biira village who arrived from UK and 8-year-old Ugandan male a resident of Suubi Watoto village arrived from the UK.
The other cases are adults; 29-year-old Ugandan female a resident of Kyanja, Nakawa who was a contact of one of the previously confirmed cases, 27-year-old Ugandan male and resident of Mpererwe, Wakiso who travelled from the UK, 30-year-old Ugandan male, resident of Kisasi in Kampala arrived from UK, 27-year-old Ugandan female, resident of Kavule Makerere who arrived from the UK and 26-year-old Ugandan male, a resident of Katabi, Wakiso, also arrived from the UK.
Available information indicates that twelve children and 10 adults of the Watoto Choir were quarantined in Entebbe after a member of their team tested positive for coronavirus upon return from the United Kingdom.
The choir raises awareness about the work of Watoto Church globally and also offers leadership training for children. The team returned to Uganda on March 20, 2020 and have since then been and institutional quarantine at Entebbe.
In a statement dated March 27, to the Watoto fraternity, Julius Rwotlonyo, the associate team leader Watoto said that one of the adult chaperones who takes care of the choir that had returned from the United Kingdom (UK) on tour is among the Ugandans who tested positive for the virus.
MASS TESTING
Museveni at the same briefing said he had been notified that Ugandans were calling for mass testing of everyone in the country like is being done in other countries such as South Korea and Germany, but he said testing is very expensive at $65 (about 246,796) per person and Uganda can't afford to test everybody.
Even then, Museveni said, there is a global shortage of testing kits as countries struggle to contain the spread of the pandemic. Museveni said mass testing is useless because one can test negative today but then test positive later on once they have been exposed to an infected person. Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) said they are left with about 25,000 test kits that may soon run out stock.
There are currently 845,651 confirmed coronavirus cases in the world as of March 31. USA registered 439 deaths on Tuesday, Italy 837, Spain 553, France 499, UK 381, Belgium 192, Netherlands 175. Algeria 9 deaths, Egypt 5 deaths, Morocco 3 deaths, Tunisia recorded one death, Burkina Faso two deaths.
Tanzania today recorded its first death while Burundi also recorded its first cases of two Burundian nationals who returned from France via Rwanda. Sierra Leone also recorded its first case.