The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Test results from the Uganda Virus Research Institute show that two deaths that occured at Lacor Hospital in Gulu were not caused by COVID-19 as was suspected by health officials at the hospital.
The two deaths that occured on Sunday were of a 59-year-old Kenyan truck driver and an 18-year-old female who was admitted at the hospital.
The 59-year-old was referred from the Elegu border post in Amuru district while the 18-year-old woman was also admitted to the isolation ward on Saturday. She was reportedly referred to Lacor hospital from Abee Hospital in Oyam district after she was diagnosed with severe pneumonia.
Upon their suspicious death, heath workers at Lacor took samples from the deceased and sent them to UVRI for testing. But Atek Kagirita, a member of the COVID-19 task force says that the two deaths in Lacor were not related to COVID-19.
“The deaths were not caused by COVID-19. If they were, we would have already informed the public. We have not yet had ANY COVID-19 related deaths,” Kagirita said.
Kagirita however didnot reveal what the cause of death for the two cases is or why the health ministry delayed to release the results of the deceased. The bodies of the deceased are still being kept at the hospital to await results before burial can take place.
So far, Uganda has confirmed 79 cases, 52 of which have been discharged from hospital. The country has 27 active cases of COVID-19. Yesterday, 2,400 samples were tested and all of them were negative.
The Minister of Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng welcomes the news. “This is good news. Let’s keep practicing COVID-19 preventive measures. Prevention is better than cure,” Dr Aceng said.
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