The Ministry of Health has allayed fears of a looming lockdown following viral social media claims about a supposed surge in COVID-19 infections in Uganda.

Dr. Col. Henry Kyobe, the COVID-19 incident commander in the Ministry, assured the public that the trends in positive cases are not unusual and align with what has been observed over the past year.

Kyobe explained that the Ministry’s surveillance teams have only detected dozens of positive cases from the thousands of samples tested regularly for pneumonia-related illnesses.

He emphasized that there is no evidence to support the existence of a new, dangerous variant of the virus.

The claims arose after reports from Buliisa district revealed that ten oil workers from the Tilenga project area, operated by TotalEnergies, had tested positive during a routine testing exercise within the camp.

Robert Mugabe, the Buliisa district Health Educator, confirmed that all ten workers had initially presented with COVID-19-like symptoms, including severe headache, fever, cough, and sore throat.

However, he clarified that all cases were mild, with eight workers having completed their treatment successfully.

Two others are still undergoing treatment at the camp’s COVID-19 treatment unit but are responding well.

The Ministry’s reassurance comes as part of ongoing efforts to monitor and manage the spread of COVID-19 in the country while keeping the public informed.

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