Uganda: Beware, Covid Is On the Rise Again, Says Health Minister Aceng

The Health Minister, Dr. Ruth Aceng has warned Ugandans to beware of the resurgence of the Covid pandemic in the country.

In a statement on her social media on Sunday, Dr.Aceng said the country has started experiencing an increase in the number of daily infections, just like it was last year in January when the deadly Omicron variant hit the country, killing several people.

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“We have started experiencing an increase in the daily number of COVID-19 cases compared to the stable trends we observed since January 2022. This increase is similar to the rise we faced in June 2021 when the Delta variant was prevalent,”Dr.Aceng said.

The Health Minister however noted that the ministry is prepared to respond and save lives than before the worse comes to worst.

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She also noted that there is not indication for travel restrictions or lockdowns in the current circumstances but urged individuals for self -protection.

“We will optimize the existing control & mitigation tools at personal and community levels. These measures include: vaccination for all individuals, wearing of face masks at all times especially for the vulnerable population and, hand washing.”

In April, government further relaxed the Covid restrictions but asking that fully vaccinated members of the public would not be required to wear face masks when they are outdoors provided there are no crowds.

However, the vulnerable and high-risk population including those aged 50 years and above and people with co-morbidities irrespective of their age were asked to wear face masks all times whether vaccinated or not.

That advice came on the backdrop of the reduction in the daily Covid infections in the country with a positivity rate of less than two percent since February 2022.

However, the latest development indicates things have since changed for the worst as the number of daily Covid cases seems to have gone up.

For example recently, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau in an interno memo to all staff pointed to an increase in the number of Covid cases at their offices.

“As we continue to offer services to our clients, it has come to our attention that some of our staff at level one(UBFC) have recently tested positive for Covid . This is despite decline in Covid infection trends countrywide,” the memo sent on May, 31, read in part.

Consequently , all contact between staff and clients on officers’ desk has been stopped .

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