Kenyan truck driver with COVID-19 symptoms dies in Uganda

cargo trucks entering Uganda
Trucks coming into Uganda are undergoing disinfection as part of strengthening screening and surveillance at border points in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. COURTESY PHOTO/Uganda Red Cross Society

Gulu, Uganda | URN | A Kenyan truck driver who was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu district after presenting with COVID-19 symptoms has died.

The 59-year-old trucker was admitted on Saturday 25th, April 2020 after being referred from Elelgu border post in Amuru district.

In a statement issued on Monday 27th, the hospital management says the Kenyan national was brought to the facility unconscious with symptoms similar to those of COVID-19 disease.

According to the statement, the deceased was isolated because, besides the other underlying conditions, he met the Health Ministry’s criteria for Covid-19 suspects.

The truck driver died alongside an 18-year-old woman who was also admitted to the isolation ward on Saturday. She was reportedly referred to Lacor Hospital from Abee Hospital in Oyam district after she was diagnosed with severe pneumonia.

Dr Paska Apiyo, the head of case management under the Gulu District COVID-19 Taskforce told our reporter in an interview that they dispatched the samples of the duo to Uganda Virus Research Institute on Sunday and were still waiting for the results.

Read Also: Government starts disinfecting trucks entering Uganda

The ministry has said they will be releasing the results soon. Gulu regional referral hospital and Lacor Hospital are designated isolation centers for Covid-19 patients in northern Uganda. Uganda has so far recorded 79 confirmed cases of coronavirus.