Tag Archives: COVID-19

Report shows how dictators exploited COVID-19 to quash opposition Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In 2018, the American democracy advocacy NGO, Freedom House, gave Uganda a score of 37% in its Freedom in the World Report and labeled the country “partly free”. Then in its 2019 report, Uganda’s score …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A new United States-led study has found the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine effective both at preventing symptomatic coronavirus and severe illness. The results of the study involving over 32,499 participants across all age groups in the US, Chile and Peru has found the drug to offer …

Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Gulu University Laboratory has tested over 600 samples of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) since being accredited by the Ministry of Health and Uganda Virus Research Institute – UVRI in January. The samples were tested from February 22 to March 18 and drawn from neighbouring districts of …

Mutukula, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Adherence to the Standard Operating Procedures-SOPs against Coronavirus Disease- Covid-19 has improved among populations at the Uganda-Tanzania border point of Mutukula in Kyotera district.    The Ministry of Health on recommendations of the World Health Organization-WHO issued a list of approved SOPs that were found …

John Pombe Magufuli, the son of a peasant farmer who became Tanzania’s president in 2015, has died aged 61. Once praised for his no-nonsense approach, he went on to become a controversial leader, especially over his response to the coronavirus pandemic. ANALYSIS | BBC.COM | He was elected for a …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The growth of Uganda’s economy in the short term is threatened by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hovering threat of the desert locusts in the region as well as uncertain weather conditions. The Bank of Uganda expects the economy to grow by at …

Bududa, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 200 health workers in Bududa district have shunned the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination. The district received 3,520 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine last week to vaccinate health workers, police officers, teachers, persons aged above 50 and those with underlying medical conditions. The target was to …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine acknowledges that the health ministry could have flouted procurement procedures while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she says this was inevitable for the purpose of saving so many lives that were at stake. Atwine’s remarks were …

Tokyo, Japan | Xinhua | Overseas spectators will be banned from entering Japan to watch the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer due to COVID-19, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee announced on Saturday. Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto told a news conference that the decision has been made by the …

Businesses and consumers that went digital helped mitigate the economic downturn caused by the pandemic Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Amid slowing economic activity, Covid-19 led to a surge in e-commerce and accelerated digital transformation. As lockdowns became the new normal, businesses and consumers increasingly went digital, providing and purchasing …