COVID-19 Updates

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The Minister in charge of the Presidency Esther Mbayo has been asked to explain why directives issued by President Yoweri Museveni during the COVID-19 lockdown are misinterpreted.   Bugabula South MP Henry Kibalya complained about a recent incident where security personnel in Kyengera refused a pregnant …

Moscow, Russia | AFP |  The bombastic military parade through Moscow’s Red Square on Saturday was slated to be the spectacle of the year on the Kremlin’s calendar. Standing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, President Vladimir Putin would have overseen a 90-minute procession of Russia’s military …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has surpassed the 100-mark after a sample of a Tanzanian truck driver tested positive. The case is a 32-year-old driver who entered the country via the Mutukula border. His sample was among 3,091 samples that were tested at the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga has denied knowledge of the proposed Constituency Covid-19 Task Force. Kadaga made the statement on Thursday during the plenary sitting. Media reports have for the past two days indicated that a Tuesday meeting between President Museveni and a select …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The World Health Organization on Thursday advised governments to clinically test a herbal drink touted by Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina as a remedy against coronavirus. The Covid-Organics infusion is derived from artemisia — a plant with proven anti-malarial properties — and other indigenous herbs. Rajoelina …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday sought to ease concerns by Tanzania that the country’s coronavirus test kits were faulty. President John Magufuli on Monday suspended top officials at the country’s national laboratory, after saying he had secretly had animals and fruits …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health and other agencies are facing problems tracking truck drivers who have tested positive to coronavirus disease- COVID-19. According to officials on the National COVID-19 Task Force, it has become increasingly hard to trace drivers and their contacts because as they …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Thirty two commercial sex workers have been quarantined in Kabale district as health authorities hunt for the contacts of a truck driver who tested positive for the coronavirus disease. The truck driver was intercepted on April 24th 2020 as he was returning from Rwanda …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As the president’s directive for people moving in public to use face masks as a way of halting transmission of the coronavirus- COVID-19 sinks in, several people including health workers and administrators in health sector are finding a challenge to use them. For instance, …

COMMENT | Jonas Mbabazi  | Integrity and accountability should be an integral part of a resilient response to the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring that government actions benefit citizens that have been hit hard. In a rather strange way, many fear that the ongoing pandemic could present opportunities through which government bureaucrats can …