COVID-19 Updates

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Prisons officials have today 23rd March, 2020 started receiving the Covid-19 vaccination jabs. They were led by Commissioner General, Dr. Johnson Byabashaijja in the exercise. This is a continuation of the vaccination exercise that started three weeks ago targeting priority groups including health workers, security personnel and …

Mbarara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Over 1,500 employees at Pearl Dairy Farms Lts have been laid off, almost a year after the company stopped exporting milk and milk products to Kenya. The yet unresolved trade Uganda-Kenya trade war, first in the dairy sector, and recently with maize, plus the effects …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The growth of Uganda’s economy in the short term is threatened by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hovering threat of the desert locusts in the region as well as uncertain weather conditions. The Bank of Uganda expects the economy to grow by at …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr Diana Atwine acknowledges that the health ministry could have flouted procurement procedures while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she says this was inevitable for the purpose of saving so many lives that were at stake. Atwine’s remarks were …

Tokyo, Japan | Xinhua | Overseas spectators will be banned from entering Japan to watch the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer due to COVID-19, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee announced on Saturday. Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto told a news conference that the decision has been made by the …

Businesses and consumers that went digital helped mitigate the economic downturn caused by the pandemic Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Amid slowing economic activity, Covid-19 led to a surge in e-commerce and accelerated digital transformation. As lockdowns became the new normal, businesses and consumers increasingly went digital, providing and purchasing …

Islamabad, Pakistan | XINHUA | Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for COVID-19, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Faisal Sultan said on social media Saturday. The Ministry of National Health Service, Regulations and Coordination said on social media that the prime minister was not fully …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A new study by Makerere University-based bioethicists has found that the government blundered regarding who should be given priority as initial beneficiaries of the Covid-19 vaccine. Launching preliminary findings of the survey in which scientists sought to establish ethical and social issues for vaccine priority …

The AstraZeneca vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries on Friday to continue using the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, as its benefits outweigh risks with tremendous potential to prevent infections and deaths from the pandemic. Following the review on the AstraZeneca …

Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | Any effort geared towards supporting businesses is highly needed at this time for the economy to fast recover from the COVID-19 crisis. A group of civil society organisations under their umbrella body, Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) has listed challenges women face in business …