In his first presidential address on the Ebola situation in Uganda, President Y Museveni urged pastors to avoid body contact during prayers. He warned that medical staff and pastors have died most in the neighboring DRC where more than ninety have so far been confirmed dead due to the viral hemorrhagic disease.
“God is not deaf. He will hear you”, Museveni said, urging the clergy to pray away from their congregation and avoid other religious rituals that bring them into close contact such as sharing cups during holy communion.
With Uganda’s 19 confirmed cases of which 14 are Congolese nationals from one family who sought care in the country, Museveni said the outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is very easy to defeat unlike COVID-19 whose transmission was harder to control.
He said the virus cannot be spread unless the infected person has started falling sick and described those falling sick to be a result of “small windows of indiscipline”.
Museveni was speaking only two days after he met the World Health Organisation Boss Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus where they shared plans of how Uganda could work together with them and the DRC government to halt transmission in the country. Up to 515 people in Congo had been confirmed infected by Monday.
Museveni said thre opening of joint treatment camps in the DRCide which is one of the interventions aimed at cutting off those carrying the disease to Uganda but also enable Congolese access to timely care.
The Ministry of Health revealed on Monday that four such facilities will be opened in the DRC manned by 160 Ugandan medics. Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi said that the perception in DRC is that there is better management of the disease in Uganda and bringing such care closer to them is very important.
On the issue of schools and churches, Baryomunsi said they had been given guidelines to assist them stay clear of the virus even as they continue handling big numbers of people.
Meanwhile, Uganda has not recorded any new cases of the disease in the last five days. Also, five people have since recovered and been discharged from treatment centers-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
