Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Saturday he is weighing placing a two-week quarantine on New York and nearby states, the US epicenter of coronavirus infections, to slow the spread of the disease to other parts of the country. The harshest measure yet by the US …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Passengers quarantined by health and security officials at Kirigime guest house in Kabale district over Covid-19 still are abusing the guidelines to directly contact members of the public. The 94 were confined at Katuna border on March 22 while traveling in two Jaguar buses from …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Local councils across the country have been advised to halt all council activities to close all gaps that could lead to the spread of coronavirus. The advise was given by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government Ben Kumumanya, at a time that …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Fishermen operating from Lake Albert are protesting the suspension of fishing activities. The decision to stop all fishing activities was taken by the District Security Committee in Hoima and Kikuube districts early in the week as a measure to control the spread of coronavirus disease …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The African Development Bank has raised an exceptional USD 3 billion in a three-year bond to help alleviate the economic and social impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on livelihoods and Africa’s economies. The Fight COVID-19 social bond, with a three-year maturity garnered interest …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government has been asked to reinforce existing social protection interventions and pay pending pensions in order to cushion the elderly Ugandans in the wake of the coronavirus. Patrick Katabaazi, the Executive Director of an Independent Think Tank; the Centre for Budget and Tax Policy, …

Mbale, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Mbale district has received 22 motorcycles to aid the movement of COVID -19 surveillance teams in the district thanks to a donation to the Gavi, the vaccine alliance. Mbale district health officer Dr Jonathan Wangisi says the motorcycles have been given to all health center …

  Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital is scaling down on provision of other services to focus on the management of COVID-19 cases. The hospital currently has over 20 people suspected of having the disease and is treating 10 of the 18 confirmed cases in Uganda. The …

  Madrid, Spain | AFP | International travel will likely fall by 20-30 percent in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, putting millions of jobs in the global tourism sector at risk, the World Tourism Organization said Friday. This revises sharply lower a forecast made on March 6 of a …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Private healthcare providers could start offering COVID-19 tests to patients that approach them thanks to the procurement of new rapid test kits from China. Currently, the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) has the sole mandate of conducting COVID-19 tests. It is from here that results …