Kisoro, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kisoro district is struggling to implement activities related to the prevention of the Covid-19 pandemic due to lack of funds. The district is unable to fuel vehicles to enforce the Covid-19 pandemic prevention measures. The district has also failed to deploy security personnel to patrol …
Read More »Fight against desert locusts sustained despite coronavirus crisis measures
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Efforts to contain the invasion of desert locusts are on going across the East African region despite limits on the flow of personnel and equipment stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Food and Agriculture Organization-FAO says that the infestation of locusts regarded as the …
Read More »Lamwo sugarcane project suffers setback as transportation of casual workers is halted
Lamwo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The proposal by Horyal Investment Holding Company Limited to transport more than 300 casual labourers from Kamuli to Lamwo district has suffered a setback because of the COVID-19 lockdown. The company had planned to transport the labourers to Katunguru Pa Wod Ating Village in …
Read More »Elderly persons struggle to survive
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hundreds of elderly persons and People with Disabilities-PWDs in Luweero town council are starving because of the COVID-19 lock down. Uganda has so far registered 53 confirmed COVID-19 cases. To contain the spread of the virus, President Yoweri Museveni announced several preventive measures, which included …
Read More »25 hand sanitizer brands fail NDA efficacy test
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Only 20 out of 45 sanitizer brands tested by the National Drug Authority -NDA had an alcohol content of 60 percent, with a capability to kill bacteria and other micro-organisms as stated on the labels. Among those that have passed the quality tests include …
Read More »Ugandans embrace virtual meetings as coronavirus affects routine operations
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandans are embracing virtual collaboration to foster continuity of programmes amid a lockdown that affected the day to day lifestyles and routines in the world of work. This follows a ban on public gatherings declared by the government as one of the measures to …
Read More »Africa ‘elbowed out’ in quest for tools to fight COVID-19: AU
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | African Union officials said Thursday the continent is struggling to compete with rich countries for testing kits and other equipment necessary to curb the spread of the coronavirus. “We need aid for testing equipment,” Kwesi Quartey, the deputy chair of the African Union Commission, told …
Read More »Ministry of Health to collect blood samples, GPS location of COVID-19 suspects
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Health Ministry has started collecting blood samples from all COVID-19 suspects in addition to the nasal and throat swabs for testing. Dr Julius Amumpe, an Epidemiologist and Head Quality Assurance Department in the Health Ministry, says that they have asked local field teams …
Read More »Uganda picks hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health is using hydroxychloroquine as a treatment drug for patients that are receiving COVID-19 treatment at three health facilities. The drug is an antimalarial used to treat mild forms of malaria, but can also be used to treat lupus and arthritis. …
Read More »Locked-down Spain celebrates Holy Week with music and humour
Madrid, Spain | AFP | In the week leading to Easter Sunday, hundreds of colourful processions featuring penitents in cone-shaped hoods and centuries-old religious floats traditionally flood the streets of villages and cities across Spain. But with a nationwide lockdown in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, Spaniards are finding …
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