Ministry of Health investigating deaths of suspected Covid-19 patients at Lacor hospital

The ministry of Health has said that it is investigating the death of two people at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor, Gulu, who had signs and symptoms similar to those of Covid-19 patients.

In a tweet, the ministry said samples from the two have been taken to the Uganda Virus Research Institute at Entebbe for further testing.

"We shall communicate results shortly. We appeal to the population to remain calm and practice preventive measures,” a statement from MOH reads.

Lacor hospital last week received three patients with symptoms associated with Covid-19 and two of them passed away on Monday.

“The two patients were referrals from other neighboring facilities and came with other underlying diseases. They also reached the hospital in critical condition,” a statement from Lacor reads in part.

By the time of their death, the said patients were in isolation at the facility.

“The reason they were isolation is because besides the underlying diseases, they met WHO criteria for Covid-19 suspicion,” the hospital management said in statement.

Nile Post understands that one of the patients is a truck driver who arrived at the facility a month ago.

The Kenyan truck driver, aged 59, was transferred from Elegu border Post in Amuru District after he showed certain signs of Covid-19.

Besides the signs, the driver also manifested a nervous system infection and a high grade infection.

Uganda has so far recorded 79 cases of Covid-19 with no confirmed deaths. At least 46 patients have been discharged.