Parliament of Uganda has disputed reports that a big number of legislators have contracted COVID-19 leading to indefinite shutdown of parliament and suspension of business.
On Monday, local media reports indicated that about 200 legislators and several parliamentary staff had contracted the deadly coronavirus. The reports indicated that some of the legislators were critically ill while others required specialized medical attention abroad.
In a statement issued today, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs Mr Chris Obore said the reports are inaccurate despite the fact that some MPs are sick with COVID-19. He also clarified that all of the legislators who were found positive are no longer in danger.
In a 22nd June letter, the Clerk of Parliament, Henry Yoweri Waiswa wrote that the decision had been taken to shut down the August House for two weeks following a rise in the number of legislators testing positive for the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). According to the announcement, parliament will open for business on July,11, 2021 after the premises have been disinfected.
In the latest communication, Mr Obore said only 14 MPs tested positive contrary to the 400 that has been reported by some media outlets.
He also said the 14 cases among MPs arose out of samples that were collected during three events hosted by parliament including the National Budget reading ceremony, the President’s State of the Nation address and election of the speaker. According to Obore, the positive cases sampled from the attendees were 160 including security, parliamentary staff and journalists.
40 of these (160), were sampled during the election of Speaker and Deputy speaker, 50 during the state of the nation address, while 70 of those who attended the budget reading were found positive, according to Mr Obore.
Obore also stated that all the 14 MPs who tested positive were asymptomatic and were not hospitalized and only two parliamentary staff are currently hospitalized. He said most MPs and staff of parliament who tested positive have since recovered.
“It is not true therefore, that 200 MPs are positive and or hospitalized as reported. The closure of parliament for two weeks is a precautionary measure taken for the safety of everyone. This is because at the very least, parliament brings together over 1000 people daily” Obore stated.
“Therefore, the logic of closing for two weeks should be appreciated in the light of this” Obore added.
He appealed to the public to exercise caution and not to become alarmist which is unhelpful in a situation like what the country is going through.
