First COVID 19 Death Victim Is Ugandan From Manafwa

BY PATRICK JARAMOGI

KAMPALA, Uganda|SHIFTMEDIA|It is official Uganda has registered one death due to COVID 19, the Minister of Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng has disclosed. This comes exactly 4 months since Uganda registered the first COVID 19 case of a 36-year-old Ugandan male who arrived from Dubai aboard Ethiopian Airlines.

The government has also apologised for the earlier reports that the 34 year old deceased was a Kenyan citizen married to a Uganda. We had earlier in the day reported this-( https://shiftmedianews.com/two-tests-show-kenyan-lady-who-died-in-mbale-had-covid-19-dr-atwine/)

According to the latest information from the Ministry of Health, the 34-year-old female had symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng in a tweet said: “COVID is real, dangerous and can kill. Please embrace preventive measures; wash your hands regularly with soap and water, wear a face mask and practice social distancing. Stay safe.,”

The 34 old who has already been buried as per the SOP was identified as Mrs. Wakinya Michael. Wakinya is a son to late Raphael, of Namamabya sub-county, formerly known as Buwasunguyi, near- Bukhaweka.

This lady was not only a worker at Namabya health centre two, but sources at Namabya indicate she was amongst the team, that recently distributed Mosquito nets, to the locals among the Namisindwa community.

This therefore means, the late did not just interact with the patients who went to the health centre for treatment, but also the wider community that received Mosquito nets, plus the teams from Kampala.

In a statement, Dr. Henry Mwebesa the Director-General Service said the deceased, a 34-year-old Ugandan, was a support staff working with Wasungui Health Centre 11 in Namavia Sub Country Namisindwa District.

Dr. Mwebesa explained that she presented with signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19 clinical presentation that key among others, fever, dry cough, headache, and difficulty in breathing.

According to Heath authorities, the victim was initially admitted to Wasungui HC II on Wednesday, 15 July, and treated for severe pneumonia before she was transferred to Joy Hospice health facility in Mbale on Monday, July 20 where she was isolated in a female ward.

While in isolation, the Ministry of Health says, her condition deteriorated with difficulty in breathing, cough, chill, and headache before she passed on on Tuesday, July 21 at 2:00 am.

Postmortem samples from the deceased were positive for coronavirus by four laboratories including Makerere University, Uganda Virus Research Institute, CPHL, and Tororo.

“In addition, findings at postmortem showed features of acute pneumonia; findings that are consistent with COVID-19 infection,” Dr. Mwebesa said in a televised address.

“In our earlier report, we had indicated that the deceased was not a Ugandan. Further investigations have since established that she was a Ugandan from Manafwa, Bubulo East, Namabya- Namunyali- Sisongofwa,” he added.

So far, 30 contacts to the deceased have been listed and placed under quarantine by the health authorities in Namisindwa and Mbale districts.

The listed contacts so far include family members and healthcare workers. The process of contact identification and listing is reportedly still ongoing, and we believe the number of contacts may increase as the extensive epidemiological investigation evolves.

“The contacts will be monitored daily for fourteen (14) days as per our protocol by district surveillance teams supported by the Ministry of Health experts who will be deployed in the district,” Dr. Mwebesa added.

The cumulative confirmed Covid-19 cases of Ugandans is now 1,071 but with one death.