The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has discharged 78 returnees including top Ugandan top musician Edrisa Musuuza aka Eddy Kenzo from institutional quarantine.
The group has been discharged from quarantine after testing negative twice for the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
However, Kenzo’s discharge was only after a probe found untrue claims from whistle-blowers that he had breached quarantine guidelines.
The whistleblowers claimed that Kenzo received visitors while undergoing institutional quarantine at Fairway Hotel in Kampala.
Quarantined persons are banned from having physical interactions with other people except for health officers and hotel workers. They are also not supposed to leave their rooms until they are given a discharge certificate upon completion of the quarantine period.
As a result, the health ministry this morning sent officials to review CCTV footage at the hotel to ascertain the claims.
@MinofHealthUG has today Officially discharged @eddykenzoficial after completing his 14 days of institutional quarantine. Fairway Hotel made him a cake having been a wonderful guest @RichardKabanda2 He appealed to the public to observe COVID-19 prevention measures pic.twitter.com/W0j7hgLxJP
— Ainebyoona Emmanuel (@ainbyoo) August 10, 2020
Dr. Richard Mugahi, the National Coordinator for Quarantine Centres at the Ministry of Health, who led the team, says that Kenzo indeed received six visitors on the same day last week.
“However, his visitors saw him at the same time but they were all wearing face masks. They also stood at least 2 metres away from Kenzo who stood at his hotel room door,” says Mugahi.
Mugahi adds, “So we have exonerated Kenzo because he complied with the rest of the quarantine guidelines. As a result, Kenzo is now free to go home.
This evening however, he is expected to address a joint press conference with the health ministry on the need for the public to observe the anti COVID-19 measures. These measures include; social distancing, following quarantine guidelines and wearing face masks while in public among others.
Kenzo had traveled to perform at a music concert when he got stranded in Cote d’Ivoire. He was stuck in the west African country for four months following the closure of all land borders and Entebbe International Airport on March 23, as a way to combat the spread of COVID-19.
He was among the 232 Ugandans and legal residents who arrived in the country from West Africa and Europe on July 25 and are currently undergoing institutional quarantine at various centres.
Some of these returnees are among the group of 78 who have been discharged today from quarantine. The rest were either discharged over the weekend or still undergoing quarantine where returnees tested positive for COVID-19.
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