The government through the Ministry of health has called upon the public to pay strict adherence to Covid-19 standard operating procedures.
The campaign that targets to promote wearing face masks and constantly sanitizing your hands followed the third wave end pronouncement by the Ministry.
“While the country is out of the third Covid-19 wave, registering a low positivity rate and no district in alert or response phase, I appeal to the population to continue following SOPs and get vaccinated! It is me and you to show responsibility for our health and safety.” Health Minister Jane Aceng said.
According to Dr. Aceng, the Covid-19 third wave was triggered by the Omicron variant. According to the ministry’s latest statistics, on February 13, a total of 47 new cases of infections were reported countrywide and the positivity rate was at 1.1 percent.
“The positivity rate is very low at almost just 1 percent. All over the country, there is no district in the alert phase and there is no district in the response phase. We only have a few pockets on infections mainly in about four areas.” She noted.
Minister Aceng listed the areas as Kabarole, Mpigi, Kampala and Wakiso with attack rate of 10-20 cases a day.
This indicated a significant decline when compared with 1,936 reported on December 31 last year, and a positivity rate of 23.3 percent.
Dr Henry Kajumbula, the head of infection control and prevention at the government scientific advisory committee on Covid-19, told this newspaper earlier that the decline could be a result of warm weather and other factors.
“Warm weather, which is being experienced in the country, doesn’t favour transmission of the virus. Also, many infected people are asymptomatic and they may not spread the virus,” he said.
Last week the government introduced mandatory door-to-door vaccination against COVID-19 virus.
The exercise is to be conducted by the health workers in close operation with the Village Health Team-VHT members.
Dr Diana Atwine, the PS Ministry of Health, said this is intended to reach out to all unvaccinated residents including the elderly group who had previously failed to get vaccinated.
She notes that the latest drive is also targeting to fast reduce the increasing rate of COVID-19 hospitalization and deaths.
