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Oyam residents demand COVID-19 lockdown amid rising infections

Disinfectant liquid soap needed to fight COVID-19 transmission – Photo by Dominic Ochola

Oyam, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Residents of Oyam District have appealed to the District leaders and Ministry of Health to enforce a lockdown to curtail community transmission of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

In the last few days the District Task Force released test results confirming 82 new infections in a single day. Of the number, 31 were pupils of Aber Primary School, a teacher, a catechist attached to the Church of Uganda and the rest were community infections.

Tom Apenyo, the Head-teacher of Aber Primary School says they are facing an uphill to confine and treat the learners who have tested positive in the absence quarantine centres and inadequate sanitizer and proposed lockdown to contain the virus.

Meanwhile, Alex Okiria, Aber Sub County Assistant warns of escalating cases of the virus attributing it to laxity among the community. He also noted that the population has abandoned wearing of face masks and observing social distancing rules.

Maxwell Bosco Olweny, the Sub-County LC 3 Chairperson who doubles as the Task Force Chairperson also seconded another round of stringent curfew and lockdown. He observed that the district needs to intensify public awareness creation to salvage the situation.

Oyam District COVID-19 Surveillance Officer, Caroline Agaro revealed that the district is considering a lockdown for the school to contain the virus. She also said the district health Department is soliciting for urgent help to supply the school with enough sanitizers.

Some parents who spoke to Uganda Radio Network (URN) have also welcomed the proposed plan of a lockdown in the District and demanded that Aber Primary School be turned into a boarding section for the pupils in order to restrict their movement and limit their interaction with the community.  

When the first COVID-19 case was reported in the country in early March 2020, Uganda  adopted a sequence of actions to curtail the risk and spread of the virus in the country including closure of public institutions, places of worship, banning public gatherings, public transport, curfew and declaring a national lockdown.

To date, the country has so far recorded 334 deaths from the cumulative 41,715 confirmed cases and 40,898 recovery cases since April 2020. However, the Ministry of Health has also warned of the new variance of the infection country.

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URN

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