Uganda has registered its first Covid-19 death, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.The Seychelles and Eritrea are now the only countries in Africa not to have reported a Covid-19 death, according to John Hopkins University data.The patient was a 33-year-old Ugandan woman, from Namisindwa District, who was admitted to hospital on July 15 and treated for severe pneumonia after suffering Covid-19 symptoms. She died on July 21, the Ministry of Health said on Twitter on Thursday.So far 30 of her contacts have been traced and placed under quarantine by local health authorities, the ministry said. They will be monitored for 14 days and tested for the virus.”The listed contacts so far include family members, and healthcare workers. 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,” the ministry added.
Since the pandemic began, 1,079 Ugandans have tested positive for Covid-19, Ministry of Health figures showed Thursday.The country took stringent steps to try to halt the spread of the virus early on in March. It was one of the first African countries to impose travel restrictions on its citizens and others traveling from 16 countries it said had a high number of cases of coronavirus, including the US and UK.It was also among the first African country to announce a ban on large public gatherings including weddings, church and Jumat services for a period of 30 days. On March 18, schools were closed and public rallies banned.
The country’s President Yoweri Museveni notably encouraged Ugandans to stay home during the country’s lockdown by releasing his own home workout video.Museveni also raised eyebrows when he outlawed anyone who provided Covid-19 relief to their neighbors and said they would be charged with attempted murder.A member of parliament, Francis Zaake was arrested for providing relief to members of his constituents.The MP tweeted on April 19 that he was clandestinely giving out relief food items to his constituents and also tweeted on April 23rd that members of the country’s military were at his house to arrest him for the crime of sharing food relief to the people.The Wamala region police spokesperson, Ms Rachel Kawala confirmed in a response to queries from local press that the MP was arrested on allegations of distributing food items to constituents in contravention of the president’s directives.