As the number of COVID-19 cases keeps rising, government through the Ministry of Health is looking at fully maximizing space to accommodate all the patients that will be confirmed in the future.
Currently, the number of confirmed cases stands at 732, of which 323 are still active and 409 have fully recovered and have since been discharged. Although the number is still relatively low, the Ministry of Health fears that the general public’s continued complacency and diverting from earlier issued precautionary directives may lead to the shooting up of COVID-19 cases in the country.
The increased numbers will overwhelm health centres and this is why the Ministry is preparing for the worst by gazetting Namboole Stadium as a treatment centre for COVID-19 patients.
The Ministry says that if the bad gets to the worst, over 40,000 beds can be set up at the national stadium, but the plan as of now is to have 500 beds set up at the venue, according to the Ministry’s Spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyona.
“It is an urgent issue. We are planning to establish over 500 beds at Namboole Stadium,” Ainebyona said.
In his COVID-19 addresses to the country, President Museveni has repeatedly said that the government is well-prepared to handle the situation in case there is a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.