Uganda’s first and main COVID-19 treatment centre Entebbe Referral Hospital has closed to inpatients after receiving overwhelming numbers of COVID-19 patients in the recent weeks.
Last year during the first wave of COVID-19, the facility was closed as all its health workers were turned to treating COVID-19 patients. However, in March this year the hospital was fully reopened for the public after numbers of covid-19 patients decreased.
According to Dr Moses Muwanga, the Director of the facility, the hospital has about 200 beds and only 45 beds have been reserved for Covid-19 patients but the surge in numbers of covid-19 patients in the second wave has forced them to close the inpatients section.
“To create space, we decided to close the inpatient services in order to handle referrals from all other hospitals. All other outpatient services like OPD, chronic care and screening for Covid-19 patients among others will continue,” Muwanga said.
Entebbe Referral Hospital serves about five districts that include; Wakiso, Mpigi and Mukono among other surrounding districts.
“We will not be able to admit inpatients; the inpatients section has been closed. We have been turning off referrals due to limited space which we had initially reserved and was not enough to cater for all referrals,” he said.
The set to be affected group are the expectant mothers and children.