Uganda on Friday reported 77 new confirmed COVID-19 cases taking the East African nation’s total to 2,756.
Friday’s figure is a significant drop, of nearly 50 percent, compared to Thursday’s total of 155 cases.
The capital Kampala registered more than half of the new cases (42), significantly more than the other nine regions which also reported positive cases.
Among the 77 new cases were nine health workers, of whom five were reported in Kampala. This means 19 health workers have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last three days and account for nearly six percent (5.75 percent) of total cases reported in that time.
The World Health Organisation attributes infection of health workers to various factors including inadequate access to personal protective equipment, exposure to patients who do not show signs of the disease and repurposing of health workers for COVID-19 response without adequate briefing.
The Ministry of Health also said that three Ugandan truck drivers tested positive. Two were from Kenya while one was from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ministry also reported that nine foreign truck drivers, seven Kenyans and one Congolese and one Tanzanian, tested positive for COVID-19 and were denied entry into the country.
The steady increase in COVID-19 cases in Uganda has prompted authorities to come out and remind the public to adhere to health regulations or else face a reinstatement of strict measures to contain the spread of the pandemic.
On Thursday, President Yoweri Museveni declared Saturday a day of national prayers to seek divine intervention in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
