Truck drivers continue driving Uganda’s COVID-19 cases high, taking the total to 121, according to official figures released on Sunday night.
The Ministry of Health twitted that out of the 1,498 samples of truck drivers tested on Sunday, five turned out to be positive.
“The new cases are: 2 Ugandan and 3 Kenyan truck drivers who arrived via Elegu and Malaba points of entry,” the ministry said.
However, all 341 community samples collected on the same day tested negative for COVID-19.
The positive cases of foreign truck drivers so far confirmed in Uganda include 30 Kenyans, 18 Tanzanians, one Burundian, one Eritrean and one Rwandan.
About 32 out of the 51 foreign truck drivers have since returned back and are in custody of their countries, according to Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the health ministry senior public relations officer.
To avoid more cases entering the country, the ministry announced that testing for COVID-19 will henceforth take place at border points, where results will be known in hours.
“Testing for COVID-19 will, starting this week, be piloted at Mutukula and Malaba border points. This aimed at addressing the risk of transmitting the disease by the Cargo Truck drivers,” Ainebyoona said.
“Results will be readily available at the Mutula and Malaba border points in just few hours. The truck drivers at the two points will have ready results before they proceed with their journey,” he added.