Uganda has confirmed its first case of coronavirus in an announcement made by Health Minister Dr Ruth Aceng on Sunday morning.
Dr. Aceng said the confirmed case is a 36-year-old man from Kakungulu in Kampala who had travelled to Dubai on March 17, for a business trip.
The businessman is said to have returned to Uganda on March 21 aboard Ethiopian Airlines.
He was screened at the Entebbe Airport where his temperature was said t be 38.7 degrees celsius.
After the screening, Dr. Aceng said the man was evacuated to Entebbe Grade B Hospital for further follow up and isolation.
“His nasal swab samples were sent to Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) for analysis. Results from UVRI showed the sample is positive for COVID-19,” Dr. Aceng told Uganda’s Daily Monitor.
So far, according to the Daily Monitor, a total of 1,827 travellers in Uganda have been identified as coming from high-risk countries for purposes of follow-up.
“About 827 are completing self-quarantine while about 1,000 are under quarantine,” Dr. Aceng said.
