Uganda Records First Coronavirus Death

Uganda has recorded the country’s first coronavirus death, according to a tweet from the ministry of health.

Further tweets explain that the 34-year-old woman was originally being treated for pneumonia in hospital last week. She died on Tuesday and was buried on Thursday.

She was part of the support staff at a health centre and the health ministry says 30 people who have may have come into contact with the woman have been placed under quarantine and the tracing of other people who interacted with her is still ongoing.

Uganda has recorded 1,079 cases of coronavirus.

The country began a phased easing of lockdown restrictions in May and on Wednesday allowed traders in one of the most congested areas of the capital, Kampala, to return to reopen their shops.

The country’s World Health Organization representative, Dr Yonas Tegegn Woldermariam, said at a media briefing that the death does not indicate that Uganda should reinstate total lockdown as it will depend on various issues, including the number of infections and the capacity of health facilities to handle them.