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Covid-19 positivity rate hits record high
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Minister of Health. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, last week said if the positivity rate goes beyond 5 percent, it indicates that the pandemic is getting out of control.
The Ministry of Health yesterday reported a Covid-19 positivity rate of 22 percent, which is the highest ever recorded rate since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country last year.
Previously, Uganda had registered 21.5 percent as its uppermost positivity rate at the peak of the second wave in June. Positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested.
Experts at the ministry attribute the resurgence of the pandemic to the infiltration of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and the widespread violation of Covid-19 preventive measures.
The latest figures were reported after 8,313 samples were tested and a total of 1,809 cases detected.
Dr Charles Olaro, the director of clinical services at the Ministry of Health, said the emergence of the heavily mutated Omicron has increased the transmission.
“What is known about Omicron is its high transmissibility; what is not yet known is the severity of infection from it. But if the number of infections is big then the number of severe cases will also increase,” he said.
He said the violation of Covid-19 preventive measures such as social distancing, handwashing and wearing of facemasks has also contributed to increased transmission.
President Museveni is expected to make his end of year address and announce the government position on the highly awaited full reopening of the economy today.
In the weeks before December 12, the Covid-19 positivity rate was under 1 percent, but it increased speedily to 5.9 percent by December 18 and further to 22 percent as of Tuesday.
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, last week said if the positivity rate goes beyond 5 percent, it indicates that the pandemic is getting out of control.
“For the period between October 11 and December 11, the country had completely controlled the disease. The country’s positivity rate consistently remained under 5 percent which is the desirable rate and indicates a control of the pandemic,” she said.
“However, in the last two weeks, we began to observe an increase in the numbers of confirmed cases.”
Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the Ministry of Health spokesperson, in a tweet on Wednesday said: “Much as the Omicron variant is believed to be less severe, the number of those getting admitted into High Dependency Unit (HDU) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is slowly increasing.”
“Mulago has 40 patients, out of which 28 are in HDU and ICU (12). Get vaccinated and don’t lower your guard. Keep vigilant,” he added.
Since the outbreak last year, the virus has infected 139,079 and killed 3,291. The ministry also reported four new deaths yesterday.
