The Uganda Broadcasting Corporation has reduced access to its Kampala office for both staff and members of the public after ten people at the media house tested positive for COVID-19.
A statement issued today by the media house indicated that the cases were from 332 samples that were taken on August 21, 2020, from the staff at the UBC Kampala office. The staff that tested positive are at now at their homes, under isolation while waiting for the Ministry of Health to link them to care.
Wilfred Senyange, the UBC Public Relations Officer says that they are going to enforce strict health preventive procedures that will reduce the number of staff available at the head office at a given time.
“We are cutting our staff to half and all staff will have to start working in shifts to reduce the spread of the disease,” He said. According to Senyange, three shifts have been introduced at the media house to reduce the number of people that have access to the media house located Nile Avenue, in the heart of Kampala.
He says that only half of the over 300 employees will have access to the media house any given day. Also, Senyange says, the media house cannot close its doors like other businesses where cases have been reported. However, they will start enforcing a strict mask policy where everyone entering the facility will be mandated to wear a face mask as a preventive health method against the disease.
UBC is the fifth media house that has reported cases of COVID this month. The others are Radio Pacis, Vision Group, Nation Media, BBS TV. Cases have also been reported by Stanbic Bank, The Uganda Police, Prisons, Ministry of Finance, and UNRA, among others.
Dr William Worodria, the COVID-19 case manager says that with the spread of the disease within communities now is the time for everyone to take personal responsibility of keeping themselves safe.
“The disease is spreading and people need to take care. We had contained it before but now since we have community transmissions, ti is everywhere. People need to follow the preventive health measures such as wearing masks and washing hands frequently,” he said.