Uganda’s Coronavirus cases have spiked to 203 after 43 truck drivers tested positive on Friday according to the Ministry of Health.
The new cases included 17 Ugandans, 14 Kenyans, five Tanzanians, two Burundians and one unknown truck driver at the various borders.
Of the 43, 28 truck drivers were tested at the Elegu border, 6 at Mutukula whereas nine were tested at the Malaba border with Kenya.
In total, 1838 samples were taken from truck drivers whereas all the 720 samples taken from Ugandan communities tested negative.
The development comes at a time when the Ministry of Health on Friday commissioned the Port Health laboratory at Mutukula border that will see all truck drivers from Tanzania tested and results given within 45 minutes.
This means that drivers will have to wait for the results and if positive, they will not be allowed to proceed but taken under isolation.
The introduction of the Port Health Laboratory will be a sigh of relief to Ugandans who have always expressed concern over the truck drivers who are at a risk of infecting other people they interact with along their journeys.
President Museveni insisted he will not order truck drivers stop entering the country but noted a “medicine” for the problem would be got.
The East African heads of state early this week met and resolved that the drivers be tested before leaving their destinations and provided with certificates that they display whereas entering the various borders.
Uganda’s confirmed Covid-19 cases are 203 and of these, 63 have fully recovered and returned home.
