Confirmed coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Uganda have increased to 507 after another 18 samples tested positive from the collected 1,086 samples yesterday June 2.
The new cases include 4 truckers who arrived from South Sudan, 12 alerts and contacts to previously confirmed positive cases. These include 8 patients from Amuru, 3 from Buikwe and one from Kyotera districts. Two more cases were confirmed from Malaba border district.
Uganda's latest confirmed cases are taking a new turn - with more cases now being registered from the contacts and community than cross-border truckers. Previously, the truck drivers dominated the daily case updates released by the ministry of Health. There are fears that the cases will spike even further when the ban on public transport is lifted tomorrow Thursday.
Public transport including buses and taxis can resume operations provided they observe several standard operating procedures including carrying half their normal passenger capacity, passengers observe social distancing, have sanitizing facilities and all passengers and drivers must all be masked up.
On Tuesday, 21 foreign truck drivers (13 Kenyans, 3 Tanzanians, 4 Eritreans and one Congolese) who tested positive were handed back to their respective countries. Uganda's recoveries now stand at 82 after 3 more patients got discharged from Gulu regional referral hospital on Tuesday.
Djibouti and Kenya are East Africa’s most infected countries - with 3,886 and 2,093 confirmed cases respectively. Djibouti has lost 25 patients while Kenya has so far lost 71 after another 2 people died yesterday.
Rwanda, yesterday lost its second patient to coronavirus and also registered 7 more cases to take its national tally to 384. Somalia meanwhile has 2,089 confirmed cases with 79 deaths and Mayotte 1,986 confirmed cases and 24 deaths.
In Ethiopia at least 1,344 people have been confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus disease while 14 have died thus far. South Sudan so far has 994 confirmed cases and 10 deaths while Madagascar has 845 confirmed cases and 6 deaths. Tanzania's cases have been stuck at 509 for the last 3 weeks although Tanzanian truckers continue to test positive in Kenya and Uganda where they are always denied entry.
In total, 151 people died from coronavirus while 4520 new infections were reported by countries on the African continent yesterday June 2. As of yesterday, there were 158,838 confirmed cases in Africa and 4520 deaths.
MORE WHO WOES
In a related development, Equatorial Guinea has expelled World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to their country, Dr Triphonie Nkurunziza, whom they accused of "falsifying the country’s Covid-19 numbers."
Equatorial Guinea has 1,306 confirmed cases and 12 coronavirus related deaths. It is unclear how Nkurunziza was falsifying the results but it adds to the growing resentment African countries are having towards the global health organisation.
Last month, Burundi ordered the country's top WHO representative Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo and three other experts coordinating the coronavirus response to leave the country after being declared persona non grata.
Mulombo, together with Dr Jean Pierre Mulunda Nkata, communicable diseases head Dr Ruhana Mirindi Bisimwa, and a laboratory expert in the testing for Covid-19, Prof Daniel Tarzy were accused of interfering in Burundi's management of the coronavirus disease.
Tanzania has also had a rough ride with WHO, with President John Pombe Magufuli accusing his government officials of colluding with WHO to falsify coronavirus cases in the country so as to secure more donor funding. Magufuli went as far as accusing WHO of giving fake test kits to African countries so as they record fictitious cases.
In Uganda, there has also been some subtle friction between WHO and Ugandan officials after government decided to expunge from its confirmed cases records, foreign nationals who had tested positive for coronavirus in Uganda.
WHO was also uncomfortable with Uganda's stance to repatriate back to their countries, patients who had been tested positive for coronavirus in Uganda.
However, ministry of Health officials said the country's hospital resources and capacities were being stretched and overwhelmed by foreign nationals especially Tanzanians who sought for testing and treatment in Uganda due to the indifference towards the disease by their own government back home.
The USA also withdrew its funding and cooperation with WHO after it accused the global body of towing the Chinese line and failing to contain the global spread of Covid-19 from China. China is the leading global manufacturer of personal protective equipment (PPEs) including masks, gloves among others that are necessary for health workers in the treatment of Covid-19.
Coronavirus was first reported in China in December 2019 but only declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, after it had reached nearly every corner of the globe. The pandemic has paralysed economies and lifestyles worldwide as countries rushed to lock down airports and borders to limit travel.