Africa-Press – Uganda. The Leader of Opposition (LOP) in Parliament, Mr Mathias Mpuuga, has tasked the Health ministry to extract and table a detailed updated report showing the status of Covid-19 in Uganda.
Mr Mpuuga said the findings will assess whether there is still a need to subject persons meeting President Museveni to Covid-19 tests.
He further revealed that the report will present a vivid picture of the country’s status, especially for travellers destined to the Pearl of Africa.
“My point is that the Minister of Health comes to this House and shares with Parliament what difference it makes to do a Covid test when going to State House and yet not any other place. [This is] because we send mixed signals regarding Covid and actually when the State House is mentioned, then Covid [test] comes into play,” Mr Mpuuga demanded.
“Can we get information [and] on a very serious note, we need to understand what is it about State House or the presidency for that matter and Covid. People visiting this country need to understand whether State House is now the epicenter of Covid-19 in the region or in the country. Otherwise, the mixed signals you are sending are not good for us [as a country],” he added.
Background
His demanded follows a call to Members of Parliament to undertake a mandatory Covid test, as a prerequisite to allowing them attend the National Prayer breakfast meeting slated to be held at the State House on Sunday.
He, therefore, wondered why the legislators have to undergo a mandatory covid test prior to a special meeting with President Museveni.
In May this year, the World Health Organisation declared that Covid-19 was not categorised as a global health threat. The following month, shortly after the aforementioned WHO declaration, the President revealed that he had tested positive for Covid-19 after he had undertaken three rounds of Covid tests.
Prior to this, Mr Mpuuga had also openly expressed his displeasure on the continuous mandatory covid tests undertaken by persons lined up to meet President Museveni reasoning that this resulted in a heavy waste of government resources.
Covid-19 statistics
Mr Mpuuga demanded clarity be made by the Ministry of Health, something the Deputy Speaker, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, granted.
“We need an update as a country on the status of Covid-19, whether Covid went away or we still have it. Because some people are going to start saying that before meeting please do a Covid test. And if we could get a formal statement, [then it will guide],” Mr Tayebwa said.
The Deputy Speaker reasoned that it is through the formal statement tabled by Ministry of Health that the country will be able make sound decisions on the issue.
Health Ministry responds
The State Minister for Health in charge of Primary Health Care, Ms Margaret Muhanga, defended the persistent mandatory Covid tests subjected to all persons that hold meetings with President Museveni.
“Covid is still with us. It is not true that people test because the
President is old. You are all aware that the President got Covid some few months ago and treated, but for safety really for the fountain of honor, he is only one person and so we need to protect him,” Ms Muhanga said.
“The Ministry of Health has got a committee which is called the scientific committee. The scientists actually advised
that everybody who meets the President does a test, including other heads of State. Clearly, not many people meet the President all the time, but the few that meet him, do the Covid test,” she added.
Ms Muhanga also pledged that her office would comb through the Ministry’s latest data collected across the country on the Covid-19
to inform the specific details that will be carried in the statement that will be tabled next week. “We shall do that next week. Every week we get between 50 and 60 people who have Covid,” Ms Muhanga said.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
