By Mulengera Reporter
With almost 1,000 Ugandans that had been stranded outside the country returning home recently, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has warned that bringing in more numbers than earlier agreed upon could strain the healthcare system.
Although MoH and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had agreed that only 300 Ugandans be allowed to return home every fortnight, almost 1,000 have so far returned since the first batch of returnees, from Turkey, arrived at the Entebbe International Airport on June 22. They have since been followed by others from Sudan, Netherlands, India, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
But Health Minister Aceng says the number is higher than what was decided on between her ministry and Foreign Affairs and could soon overwhelm health workers since all the returnees are expected to undergo mandatory institutional quarantine for two weeks at over 30 designated hotels and school buildings.
Aceng has been quoted by URN as asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to“reprogram and ensure that we receive 300 returnees every two weeks so that the system doesn’t get overwhelmed.” Already, MoH is monitoring about 1,000 returnees, 15 of whom tested positive for Covid19.
Foreign Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary Patrick Mugoya recently said the return of Ugandans had been halted “on the request of health officials; we have stopped the process so that they can handle the numbers in the country so that we are not overstretched” but insisted “the 300 figure was for the Ministry of Health. The hotels that we have here can handle more than 1,000 people. The capacity is there.”
The halting of return flights means that Ugandans who were planning to return from the United States, China, Malaysia and other countries might have to wait for a bit longer than they had earlier thought.
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