COVID-19: Majority Dubai Returnees Test Negative

Uganda has registered four new cases of Coronavirus bringing the total to 18.

In his latest statement, President Yoweri Museveni announced that despite the increase in number of cases, majority of the Dubai returnees and others from high risk countries have tested negative.

He said 104 returnees from Dubai or their associates tested on Wednesday were all found negative, while another 197 tested the following day (Thursday), only 4 tested positive. The President also revealed that the earlier 14 confirmed patients are responding well to treatment in hospital.

Below is Museveni's full statement:

To the Countrymen, Countrywomen and Bazzukulu I thank all of you for embracing the measures we announced to control the Corona Virus.

Although it is too early to accurately determine whether we are defeating the virus or not, I have some good news in as far as fighting is concerned. The good news is that yesterday but one the 25th of March, 104 returnees from Dubai or their associates were tested for the virus and they were all negative.

Yesterday the 26th of March, another 197 people were tested and many of them were returnees from Dubai or other category one countries, only 4 tested positive. These 4 had been under institutional quarantine in the various hotels identified by the sub-committee on quarantine. They have been evacuated to Mulago Hospital for treatment. It seems, therefore, that the efforts of identifying by temperature monitoring at the airport, quarantining the people on whom there's some suspicion and tracing the ones who escaped from the quarantine is working well.

Fortunately, as we can see , many of the people are negative. Another good news is that the majority of the 14 people who are hospitalized at Entebbe, Mulago and Masaka with the virus are responding well to the treatment and seem to be improving.

I will keep you updated.

Signed: Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Gen. (rtd) President of Uganda