Yesterday, the Ministry of Health confirmed that seven frontline workers in the fight against COVID-19 have tested positive for the disease, and they have since been admitted to Entebbe Grade B and Mulago National Specialised Hospitals.
The confirmed cases include three nurses, two doctors, and two senior-level staff. The Health Ministry says that three of the health workers were confirmed among samples that were tested on Saturday, May 30, 2020, and four were confirmed yesterday May 31, 2020, making the total COVID-19 case count in Uganda 417.
The Minister of Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said that medical staff should not lose morale because every life matters and needs to be protected, and told them to be extra careful when dealing with COVID-19 cases even when they are asymptomatic because they can still infect others.
“We need to be safe. We need to protect ourselves. So we have come to identify with you and to reassure you that we are in this together, we will walk the journey together. Every life of a health worker matters and every life of a health worker must be protected.
“Our colleagues are alive and well and will walk out of the hospital but we don’t want any other person getting infected. You must protect yourselves. You must ensure that you follow the procedures clearly laid down in the guideline very carefully and without making a single mistake,” Aceng said.
In a statement released last night, the Ministry of Health said that a team of experts specialized in Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC), Case Management and Psychological are currently in the various places where health workers tested positive to evaluate the response and investigate what could have led to the unfortunate infection of the health workers.
President Kaguta Museveni is expected to speak to the nation today about the COVID-19 situation and the way forward.