Covid-19 cases on the rise

On Wednesday, December 22, the new cases were 502, meaning they have now increased by 208 in one day.

The ministry said that the tests it ran on December 21, 2021, confirmed these new cases out of the 6,992 samples collected that day.

While breaking down the new cases, district by district, the ministry said Kampala has 450, Wakiso 174, and Kyotera 16.

Mbarara has 13, Toro 11, Luwero 10, Mbale 6, Jinja 5 and Amuru 4. Masaka and Kibuku have three each, while Busia and Gulu have two and one, respectively.

The ministry said 10 truck drivers from Kyotera (5), Kampala (3) and Amuru (2) tested positive for COVID-19.

The ministry did not report any more COVID-19 deaths, saying the total was still 3,274.

It said that those who had recovered from COVID-19 were 98, 127 and that a total of 10, 121,220 vaccine doses had been administered in the country.

It also reported that the test positivity rate was 10.1% and that 85 active cases were admitted to health facilities.

The Ministry of Health spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, said they are concerned about the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

"The cases are increasing, so people need to remain vigilant as we head into the festive season," Mr. Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the health ministry's spokesman, said.

On 28th October, President Yoweri Museveni said that by the end of December 2021 the country will be ready for a full reopening of the economy. 

“Be informed that the schools will be opened in January and the rest of the economy will be opened in the same month,” President Museveni said. 

“Vaccination is key to the reopening of the economy,” he added. 

“By the end of December 2021, 12 million people should have been vaccinated,” forecast President Museveni, including vulnerable people and health and education workers.

With the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreading fast, however, things do not appear as the president would have us believe.  

The World Health Organisation, with the support of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunisation and its COVID-19 Vaccines Working Group, is still reviewing the variant with a view to a possible booster dose for the currently available COVID-19 vaccines. 

Still, the variant was responsible for an estimated 73.2 percent of the new infections in the USA, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

In the United Kingdom, Omicron is reported to be 3.2 times as likely to spread among households as the Delta variant is.

Countries across Europe such as Austria, Belgium, Latvia, The Netherlands, Ireland, Czechia, Sweden, France, Greece, Italy, Germany and Slovakia are all either in complete lockdown or have introduced measures and restrictions tending towards the same. 

In Uganda, restrictions will soon take effect, which will limit public spaces to only those who have been vaccinated as Omicron slowly changes the nation’s posture with respect to fully reopening up the economy.