Epidemics Tracker

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of health will start conducting instant COVID-19 tests at the Uganda-Kenyan border in Malaba this weekend. The announcement comes amid public uproar on the number of imported cases of coronavirus disease COVID-19, mainly among truck drivers. This morning, the ministry of health …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa and Committee Chairpersons in parliament have disagreed on the proposed creation of Constituency Covid-19 taskforces with the latter pushing for the revival of the Constituency Development Fund-CDF. Nankabirwa met 40 Members of Parliament chairing different Parliament Committees on …

Miami, United States | AFP |  The controversial mixed martial arts card scheduled for Saturday in Florida will go ahead as planned despite one of the undercard fighters testing positive for coronavirus. Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza was dropped from the Jacksonville event after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday. He arrived …

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Uganda has registered 13 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest number in a single day. This brings to 114, the number of confirmed Covid19 cases in Uganda. The 13 cases were identified from the 2,421 samples collected from truck drivers on May 8th, 2020. According …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP |  In full protective gear, two doctors climb the stairs four at a time. Their first task of the day: to test a woman who has had contact with a coronavirus patient in Istanbul. Visibly perturbed by the appearance of men in white bodysuits on her landing, …

New York, United States | AFP | Pop royalty Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber have teamed up for a duet to raise funds for the children of frontline workers fighting coronavirus. The pair, both 26, dropped “Stuck With U” early Friday morning, a bubblegum-sweet ode to isolation with close ones. The now customary shot-from-home style …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | These are the top stories in this week’s THE INDEPENDENT. COVER STORY Herbal medicine for COVID-19: Is this hope or gloom for Africans? COMMENT Is parliament immune from punishment? Unlike past occasions where MPs controversially paid themselves despite public outcry, they should be punished ANALYSIS …

Seibersdorf, Austria | AFP | Shortages of materials needed in tests for the novel coronavirus remain  “critical”, according to the head of a UN lab, which is supplying countries with COVID-19 detection kits. In particular the chemical reagents for the tests are still in short supply, said Giovanni Cattoli, head of the Animal Production and …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Public health expert Prof. Freddie Ssengooba has cautioned government to carefully consider what is feasible for the country in the fight against coronavirus disease COVID-19 at a time when the world is awash of many untested options to control further transmission of the disease. …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has cautioned the general public to always wear masks when they are out of their homes saying that this would combat the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its infection to other people. “People seem not to understand the value …