The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM ) secretariat is on high alert and ramping up efforts to detect and prevent the spread of coronavirus after test results confirmed cases of covid-19 among the staff.
According to the Director of Information and Publicity Hon Emmanuel Dombo, the secretariat offices will undergo disinfection and there will be heightened strict observance of preventive measures to minimize the risk of exposure both to staff and visitors to the secretariat.
The drastic measures, according to Hon Dombo, arose from a meeting between top management of the secretariat and the National Incident Management Team from the ministry of Health headed by Dr Monica Musenero following the discovery that some of the staff had been infected by the deadly virus.
This follows a pronouncement by the NRM Secretary General, Hon Justine Kasule Lumumba that 2 staff of the secretariat had tested positive for covid-19. Lumumba also noted that the leadership were working with the technical people and further guidance to be given in due course.
In a statement released this evening, Dombo says, starting tomorrow, Thursday, there is going to be heightened strict observance of SOPs at the secretariat in order to minimize exposure and risk.
He says disinfection of entire premises starts this evening (Wednesday) and all staff will undergo a covid-19 test tomorrow at the secretariat.
The statement also notes that members of staff who were tested before the incident will repeat the test after one week.
Dombo said that the 2 staff who were confirmed positive have been taken under isolation and 17 others designated as high risks have been put under institutional quarantine for 14 days.
According to Rogers Mulindwa, the NRM senior Communications Officer, the positive cases arose due to a policy enforced by the secretariat to have members of staff at the secretariat undergo regular screening as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The two cases come a day after President Yoweri Museveni’s visit to the secretariat on Tuesday where he was nominated as the party’s the national chairman and presidential flag bearer for the forthcoming 2021 elections.
While there, Mr Museveni cautioned Ugandans against laxity in adherence to prescribed prevention measures to stop coronavirus spread which he said could result into catastrophic consequences.
Museveni also revealed that he called in Ministry of Health experts on Sunday to test him for Covid-19 after developing a sore throat and hoarse voice. He, however, said that his sample tested negative thus being able to appear in public again.
The NRM secretariat offices at Kyadondo Road in Kampala has been a bee-hive of activities in the last few days with members and supporters flocking the venue for various reasons since it is an election season.
However, there has been observance of preventive measures in the fight against coronavirus including mandatory wearing of face masks for every visitor and sanitizing at the entrance.