BREAKING NEWS: UGANDA RECORDS FIRST COVID-19 DEATH, ITS A WAKE UP CALL FOR UGANDANS TO LIVE RESPONSIBLY

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By Goodluck Musinguzi

It was a sombre evening at the Ministry of Health boardroom as Director General Services Henry Mwebesa announced the first death due to Covid-19, like five months when the first case of covid-19 was announced by Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the country is in shock.

Most people been holding that sense of false security that coronavirus is not there because it has killed no Ugandan.

Tension was high in Mbale city on Wednesday, eastern Uganda following the death of a 34-year-old female patient with COVID-19 like symptoms.

The patient was picked up from Mabyale sub-county in Namisindwa district and admitted at Joyce Hospice health center.

Samples were picked from the dead body and taken to four different testing centers as the country waited for the news.

The postmortem samples from the deceased were confirmed positive for SARS-COV-2 by 4 laboratories: UVRI, CPHL, Tororo and Makerere University.

In addition, findings at postmortem showed features of acute pneumonia; findings that are consistent with COVID-19 infection

The victim is 34 year old Ugandan female,resident of Namisindwa District who presented with COVID like signs and symptoms: fever,dry cough,headache and difficulty in breathing, Dr Henry Mwebesa announced.

Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said Uganda confirms 1st COVID death, a 34 year old female. She had symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

COVID is real, dangerous and can kill. Please embrace preventive measures; wash your hands regularly with soap and water, wear a face mask and practice social distancing. Stay safe.

Aceng condoled with the family, May her soul rest in eternal peace. May God guide and protect her dear family.

Yonas Tegegn WOLDEMARIAM, Country Representative World Health Organisation Uganda said Uganda has registered its 1st COVID19 death.

The victim is 34 year old Ugandan female,resident of Namisindwa District who presented with COVID like signs and symptoms: fever,dry cough,headache and difficulty in breathing.

Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine said this death should prove that Covid pandemic is real. She asked Ugandans to live responsibly and observe guidelines.

“Let us help to save our lives by preventing the spread of Covid-19”.

The Ministry of Health announced that 30 contacts in Mbale and Namisindwa districts were put in quarantine as they search for more people who could have been exposed to the late.

The Namasindwa District Task Force has been reactivated to coordinate the district response. So far, thirty ( 30) contacts to the deceased have been listed and placed under quarantine by the health authorities in Namisindwa (18) and Mbale (12) districts.

In terms of COVID-19 surveillance and mechanisms for case detection, Namasindwa is one of the best performing districts with average daily reporting standing at 100% to-date with 263 alert samples (all negative) collected since May 2020

The deceased (Female) was part of the health support staff at Wansugui health centre in Namisindwa district and has been buried.

The deceased died after six pm ,she first got treatment from Wasunguyi healthy center 2 where she was working but later transfered to joy hospice healthy facilitate where she died from.

UPDF had deployed more soldiers in Namisindwa district to boost surveillance along porous border points as the country tightens its grip on illegal entries as the COVID19 pandemic escalates in neighboring countries.

A joint security task force in the Elgon says that the number of people crossing from Kenya to Uganda and from Uganda to Kenya in Namisindwa district through river Lwakhakha had reduced due to the joint patrols at the porous points.

However, people in Elgon region said as the rest of the country enjoys free movement of vehicles, authorities in Namisindwa district are overwhelmed with the number of people returning from Kenya.

In addition to Lwakhaha (average daily crossing 150-180 ) as a major border point, there are a lot of illegal border crossings between Uganda and Kenya.

Namisindwa District is bordered by Bududa District to the north, Kenya to the east and south, Tororo District to the south-west, and Manafwa District to the west.

The current interventions are aimed at limiting and controlling secondary transmissions arising out of this case-patient.

The findings from this will guide further actions: the intensity, duration and the breadth of the response

The immediate actions that our district surveillance teams and the District Task Force are undertaking include the following: urgent identification of the source of infection the possible transmission lines the extent of community exposure

The contacts will be monitored daily for fourteen (14) days as per our protocol by district surveillance teams supported by Ministry of Health experts who will be deployed in the district

The listed contacts so far include family members, and healthcare workers.

South Africa has recorded 572 new COVID-19 related fatalities – a record high for the country – bringing the death toll to 5940

Richard Kabanda, the Acting Commissioner Health Services-Health Promotion said this is critical and an eye opener for the general public.

Many people thought Uganda had no COVID or it was different from what the rest of the world is facing. But we have now seen that COVID is real, dangerous and kills

The community must follow public health preventive measures. Wear a mask always, wash hands frequently or use a hand sanitizer and maintain social distancing.

The process of contact identification and listing is still ongoing, and we believe the number of contacts may increase as the extensive epidemiological investigation evolves

General Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transport said he was saddened to learn about Uganda’s first COVID19 related death.

Let us all continue to adhere to the set guidelines and SOPs. I trust that this, too, shall come to pass.

Global hot spot South Africa is seeing a “huge discrepancy” between confirmed COVID-19 deaths and much higher excess deaths from natural causes, while Africa’s top health official says the coronavirus is spreading there “like wildfire”

South Africa witnessed some 17,000 extra deaths from natural causes or 59% more than would normally be expected between early May and mid-July, scientists said, suggesting many more people are dying of COVID-19 than shown in official figures