KAMPALA — Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) spokesperson Vincent Seruma has confirmed that the tax body has intercepted a Tanzanian businessman who tested for coronavirus in Uganda.
The 34 year old Tanzanian businessman, according to authorities was intercepted at Karuma as he followed the his cargo “but in a private car.”
URA has since established that he is the logistics manager of a Democratic Republic of Congo goldmine who was following and coordinating the mine’s 12 trucks headed to DRC.
He has been intercepted at Karuma and driven back to Mulago Hospital in Kampala, the Uganda Revenue Authority confirmed on Saturday afternoon.
“He is already at Mulago as we speak,” the URA said in a statement.
“All the other 12 truck drivers in that particular DRC bound convoy are subquarantined at Karuma and the Ministry of Health is in control,” URA added.
On why the businessman what not immediately intercepted, Mr. Seruma said electronic cargo trackers are planted on cargo trucks not ordinary vehicles yet he (businessman) was driving a private car.
The Director General of Health Services at the Ministry of Health Dr Henry Mwebesa said the businessman will be repatriated to Tanzania for treatment, meaning, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Uganda remain at 55.
The cumulative total of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the country now jumps to 55 active infections, eight of which were discharged having fully recovered from the COVID-19.
Eighty-seven percent are imported cases, 11% are local transmissions while 2% have an unknown chain of transmission.
Uganda on Thursday discharged eight more patients who have recovered from COVID-19 after treatment, bringing the count in the country to 20.
Seven patients were discharged from Mulago National Referral Hospital in the capital Kampala and one from Hoima Regional Referral Hospital in the western part of the country.
“All the discharged patients tested negative twice for COVID-19. We are now remaining with 35 active cases from the confirmed 55 cases in the country,” the Ministry said in a statement.
Uganda started discharging patients who recovered from the novel coronavirus on last week Saturday with three patients from Entebbe Referral Hospital, about 40 km south of the capital.
Uganda has 55 confirmed cases and is currently under a three-week extended nationwide lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of the virus.
