Health
Health Ministry says Lockdown helped in reduction of COVID-19 cases
The Ministry of Health has revealed that the 42 days’ lockdown has been a success in reducing the number of covid-19 infections in the country.
While addressing the nation on Tuesday, just two days to the end of the lockdown, the minister of health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, said the rate of community transmission during the lockdown has reduced.
She noted that the lockdown enabled the health ministry to carry out training of health workers on intensive care management, procure more ambulances, provide personal protective equipment for health workers, and it helped reduce the number of hospital admissions.
On June 18th, President Yoweri Museveni announced several measures including the closure of schools, suspension of religious gatherings and transport between districts, for at least 42 days to contain the spread of the virus.
The lockdown was also aimed at enhancing risk communication and community engagement, streamline and strengthen home-based care for COVID-19 and increase the capacity of health facilities to optimally manage the disease.
The Ministry says this lockdown was also supposed to enable vaccination against the disease, sustain continuity of other health services and ease access to emergency medical services in the country.
On average 1,000 new infections were being reported daily, prior to the lockdown and now the figure stands at at least100 cases.
Despite the reduction in number of infections in the second wave, scientists warn that this does not mean that the second wave has ended or that the country is safe.
According to Dr Misaki Wayengera the chair of the ministerial scientific committee, despite the drop in infections, there are still cases of community transmissions and as such the disease is not yet under control.
Scientists say the effective method to stop the spread of the disease and new infections is by following all Standard Operating Procedures- SOPs.
