An average of 1,900 COVID-19 cases are registered across the country every week, with Kampala accounting for one third, the Ministry of Health has said.
According to Joyce Moriku Kaducu the state minister for health in charge of primary healthcare says there is widespread community transmission of the virus across the country with at least 70 district reporting cases on a weekly basis.
Dr. Kaducu says West Nile, Elgon remain the main transmission hotspots. To date, only 9 districts have not reported a case. As of 22nd November 2020, 18,165 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed, 8,675 recoveries and 181 deaths registered.
“In the past one month, we have witnessed patients with severe forms of the disease and this is accompanied with more deaths as the vulnerable populations such as the elderly (above 60) and those with co-morbid conditions (such as diabetes, hypertension) are more exposed in their communities” she said.
Adding that from their analysis, Uganda will see more deaths attributed to COVID-19 as the country’s outbreak has progressively shifted from the younger age group 30-39 years to older age groups 50-59 and 60 years+.
Dr. Kaducu added that the strain on the health systems can only be reduced if the population adheres to the SOPs and this will lead to a reduction in the infections.
Uganda is currently in form 4 of the pandemic which means that there is disseminated and diffuse community transmission, at the same time the country is experiencing spikes in some districts and institutions of learning.
“The Ministry of health is developing a resurgence strategy to address the spike in cases. This is based on a set threshold which includes number of cases and deaths in a given period. The launch of this strategy in localities experiencing a spike will call for heightened interventions to mitigate further morbidity and mortality” the minister further.
