Uganda's confirmed coronavirus cases statistically still stand at 227 with 63 recoveries after authorities unusually made no daily update on Sunday, May 17.
The government's Central Public Health Laboratory in Luzira received 15,000 COVID-19 test kits for the Cobas 8800 real-time PCR machine. Cobas 8800 has the capacity of running 3,000 tests per day and about 192 tests per hour according to ministry of Health officials.
Previously, most tests, especially of cargo truck driver, are carried out at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe at about 2,000 tests per day.
Makerere University's laboratories have also been carrying out coronavirus disease tests. This week, two GeneXpert machines were deployed at the Mutukula border with Tanzania to test truck drivers - with government announcing that only COVID-free drivers will be allowed into the country.
For the past two weeks, all new infections have come from truck drivers. In fact, from the total 227 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, 167 (74 per cent) are from truck drivers consisting of 71 Kenyans, 46 Ugandans, 37 Tanzanians, 7 Eritreans, 3 Burundians, one South Sudanese, one Rwandans and one unknown.
Kenya on Sunday registered 57 new cases - the country's highest single-day spike of new infections thus far. Government spokesperson Col Cyrus Oguna said the new cases were from the 2,198 samples tested in the last 24 hours. Kenya's confirmed cumulative cases have now risen to 887.
The 12 truck drivers who tested positive for COVID-19 - all Tanzanians were denied entry into Kenya. Tanzania also blocked entry to Kenyan truck drivers the Taveta-Holili border.
In a video circulating on social media, Health minister Ummy Mwalimu is heard saying owners of goods from Tanzania especially Kenyans can pick them from the border.
The announcement is believed to be in retaliation for Kenya's stance on COVID-19 positive truck drivers. Tanzania's government has come out to call the reports, 'fake news'. Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli said his country will never lockdown the economy due to coronavirus.
Magufuli said God will protect Tanzanians and soon he's going to reopen schools and the national football league. He further said cases of coronavirus were reducing in his country. Tanzania has not made released any updates in over 3 weeks now. Their confirmed cases still stand at 509 at the last time of release.
This week, Tanzania government spokesperson, Dr Hassan Abbasi said they have in place 45 strategies to be implemented by three separate committees that will flatten the coronavirus infections curve in the country.
Rwanda's cases increased to 292 after 3 new cases from 1,135 samples tested on Sunday were recorded on Sunday. Meanwhile, 19 more patients recovered (197 total). Kenya has so far tested cumulative 43,712 samples while Rwanda has tested 49,374 samples so far.
South Sudan, which recently lifted the lockdown, registered 54 new cases on Sunday to rise its national tally to 54. There were 51 deaths and 3,013 new cases in Africa on Sunday - with South Africa making 38 per cent of the cases after recording 1,160 new infections on Sunday.
South Africa also registered a further three deaths to raise its total coronavirus related deaths to 264. Egypt registered 510 new cases and 18 new deaths.
The North African country has so far lost 630 people to the virus. In Algeria, 198 new cases and 6 new deaths were registered. Morocco registered 129 new cases, Nigeria 338 new cases and 6 deaths as Senegal recorded 51 new cases.
Two more people died in Ivory Coast while another 48 got infected. Somalia had 64 more infections and one more death, Djibouti 70 new infections and Mayotte 30 new cases.
Niger recorded 15 new cases and 3 new cases while in Mali there 25 new cases and 4 new deaths. Burkina Faso recorded 14 new cases and Zambia's cases rose 753 after 74 new infections. Sierra Leone recorded 43 new cases and 3 new deaths. In Chad there 29 new infections and 3 new deaths.
Madagascar recorded 21 more new infections and one more death. Ethiopia had 11 new cases and Togo 3 new cases. Burundi which is at the peak of its presidential campaigns announced 8 new cases rising its cases to 23. It was the latest update in more than 3 weeks.
Mozambique recorded 8 new cases, Liberia 3 more and Mauritania 22 new cases. Zimbabwe registered 2 more new cases. Eritrea's all 39 confirmed cases have recovered and been discharged and the country of 3.5 million people has no active coronavirus case as of May 17.
Western Sahara with a population of 595,382 people also discharged all its 6 patients and currently has no active case.
Source
