Thread by @MinofHealthUG

Uganda registers 1st COVID-19 death.
A 34 year old Ugandan female,resident of Namisindwa District who presented with COVID like signs and symptoms: fever,dry cough,headache and difficulty in breathing.
Director General Health Services, @henrymwebesa confirms during a presser

The deceased was initially admitted to Wasungui HC II on Wednesday, 15th July, 2020 and treated for severe pneumonia. However, on Monday, 20th July, 2020, she was transferred to Joy Hospice health facility, in Mbale District, where she was isolated in the female ward.

While in isolation, the patient’s condition deteriorated with difficulty in breathing, cough, chills and headache. Unfortunately, she passed on on Tuesday 21st July, 2020 at 2:00am. May her soul rest in eternal peace. #STAYSAFEUG

She was buried on 23rd July 2020 as per Safe Dignified Burial procedures. #STAYSAFEUG

In our earlier report we had indicated that the deceased was not a Ugandan. Further investigations have since established that she was a Ugandan from Manafwa, Bubulo East, Namabya- Namunyali- Sisongofwa. #STAYSAFEUG

The postmortem samples from the deceased were confirmed positive for SARS-COV-2 by 4 laboratories: UVRI, CPHL, Tororo and Makerere. In addition, findings at postmortem showed features of acute pneumonia; findings that are consistent with COVID-19 infection. #STAYSAFEUG

The Namasindwa District Task Force has been reactivated to coordinate the district response. So far, thirty ( 30) contacts to the deceased have been listed and placed under quarantine by the health authorities in Namisindwa (n=18) and Mbale (n=12) districts. #STAYSAFEUG

The listed contacts so far include family members, and healthcare workers.

The process of contact identification and listing is still ongoing, and we believe the number of contacts may increase as the extensive epidemiological investigation evolves. #STAYSAFEUG

The contacts will be monitored daily for fourteen (14) days as per our protocol by district surveillance teams supported by Ministry of Health experts who will be deployed in the district. #STAYSAFEUG

Per our protocol, the contacts are only retired from the contact list after testing negative for COVID-19 after the mandatory 14-day follow up. #STAYSAFEUG

The immediate actions that our district surveillance teams and the District Task Force are undertaking include the following:
🔸urgent identification of the source of infection
🔹the possible transmission lines
🔸 the extent of community exposure. #STAYSAFEUG

The findings from this will guide further actions: the intensity, duration and the breadth of the response. #STAYSAFEUG

The current interventions are aimed at limiting and controlling secondary transmissions arising out of this case-patient. #STAYSAFEUG

Namisindwa District is bordered by Bududa District to the north, Kenya to the east and south, Tororo District to the south-west, and Manafwa District to the west. #STAYSAFEUG

In addition to Lwakhaha (average daily crossing 150-180 ) as a major border point, there are a lot of illegal border crossings between Uganda and Kenya. #STAYSAFEUG

In terms of COVID-19 surveillance and mechanisms for case detection, Namasindwa is one of the best performing districts with average daily reporting standing at 100%: todate with 263 alert samples (all negative) collected since May 2020. #STAYSAFEUG

To date, Uganda has registered 1,079 cumulative confirmed cases of Ugandans and a total of 971 Ugandan recoveries. #STAYSAFEUG

.@tegegny: The community must follow public health preventive measures. Wear a mask always, wash hands frequently or use a hand sanitizer and maintain social distancing. #STAYSAFEUG

.@RichardKabanda2: this is critical and an eye opener for the general public. Many people thought Uganda had no COVID or it was different from what the rest of the world is facing. But we have now seen that COVID is real, dangerous and kills. #STAYSAFEUG