As the country continues to battle with the second wave of COVID-19, scientists have said that Uganda is most likely to receive the highest number of infections in August.
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng on Friday evening while addressing journalists at the UBC auditorium said that scientists expect the country’s COVID-19 second wave to peak in August 2021 before the country can start to register a gentle drop.
“According to our scientists, the country will most likely reach the peak of the number of daily cases between July 2021 and August 2021 before we start registering a gentle drop,” Dr Aceng said.
Dr Aceng said that lockdowns have proved to slowdown transmission rates and that the health ministry will use the remaining 28 days to among other things, enhance measures to interrupt transmission of the virus, enhance risk communication, streamline and strengthen home-based care for COVID-19 patients, continue vaccination, smoothen access to medical emergency services.
Dr Aceng said that the current wave is being driven majorly by the Delta variant of the Coronavirus which has caused a spike in infection and fatalities.
“Analysis made for some of the samples collected from Kampala and Wakiso between 3rd to 15 June 2021 indicates that the predominant starin is the Delta variant,” Dr Aceng said.
The Ministry of Health has also systematized the COVID-19 death count in the country, pushing the figure to 1873.
Dr Aceng said that the health ministry had earlier observed deaths from unconfirmed cases that were subjected to investigation to ascertain if they are due to COVID-19.
“The Ministry of Health, working with the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Committee has (now) finalized a clinical diagnostic criterion for the suspected cases,” Dr Aceng said.
“Based on the above, the harmonized death count currently stands at 1,873 deaths, bringing the fatality rate to 2.3%. Of these, 1,127 were PCR confirmed while another 726 are deaths confirmed clinically as probably due to COVID-19.”
Dr Aceng said that going forward all deaths will be reported in real-time as either PCR confirmed or probable COVID-19 deaths.
The country has so far observed 14 days out of the 42 days lockdown instituted by President to curb down the spread.