The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
UPDATE: Uganda Covid19
✳ 9,975 tested
✳ 55 confirmed cases
✳ 1 foreign (to be repatriated)
✳ 20 recoveries
✳ 35 active cases
✳ 0 deaths
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | Uganda health officials and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) have traced a Tanzanian driver heading to DRC who is the latest COVID-19 confirmed case.
Ministry of Health officials had Friday announced a search for the driver, who was apparently in a car tracking 12 trucks belonging to a goldmine heading towards DRC. Officials had first thought he was a truck driver but it turned out he is the logistics manager of a DRC goldmine, and was driving a land cruiser that was not being tracked by URA.
The new COVID-19 case is a 34 year old driver who crossed the Mutukula Uganda -Tanzania border point on Thursday.
According to URA, all the other 12 truck drivers in that particular DRC-bound convoy are sub-quarantined at Karuma, and the Ministry of Health is in control.
Ministry of health in a statement Friday night said tests of 744 samples from truck drivers at border points and 376 samples from individuals in quarantine, turned out only one positive.
Uganda’s COVID-19 confirmed local cases, being treated in Uganda, remains at 55. Of these, 20 have recovered and have been released, while 35 are in hospital.
As a new measure adopted to further combat the spread of COVID-19 at Uganda’s borders, all truck drivers entering Uganda are required to present themselves to the Ministry of Health officials for testing. They are however allowed to drive on into Uganda until their results are confirmed.
Early this week, a truck driver en route to Southern Sudan went through the same procedure before clearance by immigrations and URA to proceed with his journey.
Nearly 24 hours later, the results came back and one of the drivers tested positive. The URA Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS) was used to trace the actual movement of the driver from Malaba OSBP up to corner Kamdini customs check point where he was intercepted.
RECTS utilizes the Global Positioning System (GPS) to trace the movement of trucks from their point of entry in a country right up to the point of exit to curb cargo dumping among many other risks along trade routes.
Following this interception, a team led by Amelia Kyambade Uganda’s Trade Minister who is also the Chairperson of the National COVID-19 Taskforce, met at the URA headquarters this week to further discuss how they can take advantage of the Electronic Cargo Tracking System in the fight to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Kyambade was accompanied by Gen. Katumba Wamala the Co-chairperson of the Taskforce who is also the Minister of Works and Transport together with other dignitaries from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry Of Health.
The URA Commissioner General, John R Musinguzi took the team on a tour of the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System Control Centre and they witnessed how trucks are electronically trailed in real-time from the points of entry up to when they exit the country. They also visited the Central Command Targeting Center where they witnessed real-time monitoring of activities at the borders.
This monitoring can further provide information to the National COVID-19 Taskforce on what is happening at the borders in terms of whether people are practising and adhering to the medical guidelines issued such as social distancing, washing and sanitizing their hands, who are sneaking into the country and so much more.
The Taskforce together with URA management further discussed how to utilize the tracking system to ensure the safety of truck drivers in a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19.
