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 …
Read More »WHO urges virus unity after Trump attack
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The World Health Organization on Wednesday pleaded for global unity in fighting the coronavirus, following US President Donald Trump’s stinging attack on its handling of the pandemic. As the WHO prepares to mark 100 days on Thursday since it was first notified of the outbreak in …
Read More »Pandemic gives shot in the arm to Cuba’s medical missions
Havana, Cuba | AFP | Cuban doctors are back in global demand as overwhelmed national health care services tap their crisis experience as they battle with the coronavirus pandemic. Communist-run Havana has long used its “white coat diplomacy” as an arm of its foreign policy but has fallen foul of a …
Read More »President Museveni stops universities from issuing exams online during lockdown
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged universities insisting on having end of semester examinations during the national lockdown to reconsider. This comes after universities like Uganda Christian University (UCU) informed students that they would be sitting for end of semester examinations online even during the …
Read More »Shortage of essential medicines looms in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda is facing a looming shortage of essential medicines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacists across Kampala say that the country is already facing a shortage of drugs for the treatment of chronic illnesses like asthma and diabetes, among others. The development …
Read More »Activist profiling violations against women amid lockdown
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government needs to put up temporary shelters for women whose rights are being violated during the current lockdown aimed at preventing further transmission of COVID-19. The call was made by Primah Kwagala, the Executive Director of Women’s Pro Bono Initiative, an organization of …
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