BUGWERI, UGANDA: Panic has engulfed the prisons force in Bugweri District eastern Uganda as seven inmates at Busesa Prison tested positive for Covid-19.
While addressing the press about the state of Covid-19 management within the district on Wednesday afternoon, the district Covid-19 taskforce chairperson Richard Gulume confirmed that the seven who tested positive followed a mass testing of 190 inmates at the prison on Tuesday.
He said that the victims have been taken to Kirinya prisons Covid-19 treatment facility for further management.
Gulume adds that an internal contact tracing process has been expedited and some prisons officers alongside other inmates have been quarantined at a designated facility within the prisons premises.
He stressed that the situation has created panic among some inmates who have demanded to be tested but the screening process is ongoing to ensure that all those who present with Covid-19 signs are isolated.
Gulume further reveals that the inmates share a borehole with the community which increases the risk of infection to members of the general public.
He adds that local leaders have been tasked to ensure that communities tighten the ministry of health standard operating procedures aimed at controlling the spread of Covid-19.
A source within Busesa prisons told this publication that prisons officers and inmates alike have been blocked from accessing court sessions for a period of two weeks.
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