COVID-19 RESPONSE: Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has sent out 18 ambulances to offer emergency health response to the residents across the greater Kampala area.
The ambulances will offer health evacuation to both suspects and patients of COVID-19 and any other health condition.
This comes in the aftermath of a presidential directive to KCCA to find transport for people who may have health emergencies at a time when the government is under a 42-day lockdown.
Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago told the press today at City Hall that the authority is in charge of 18 ambulances that shall be used for emergency health evacuations.
Lukwago initially said that they had three ambulances that couldn’t serve the large population under KCCA jurisdiction. But KCCA spokesperson Daniel NuweAbine says the extra ambulances were mobilized by the Ministry of Health from the districts of Mukono and Wakiso which make up the metropolitan.
Although the president had suggested that vehicles can be provided but those seeking emergency health services meet transportation costs, NuweAbine says the ambulances shall be free of charge.
A person in need of the ambulances can call a toll free number 0800-990-000 or send a message through WhatsApp on 0792-310-927 and the people in the 24 hours call centre at KCCA shall connect them to the nearby ambulance.
Meanwhile, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago says that the Authority doesn’t have an operational budget to respond effectively to COVID-19.
However, he adds that they have agreed to have a COVID-19 response budget and that the technical team at KCCA shall work with the City Executive Secretary in charge of Finance to draft a budget to submit to the COVID-19 National Task Force for funding.
According to Lukwago, KCCA needs to equip their facilities with medicines and Personal Protective Equipment for health workers among others, yet they cannot do much without an operational budget yet Kampala is the current COVID-19 epicentre.
In Uganda, a total of 49,532 COVID-19 recoveries have been registered, 660 deaths and 1,257,535 COVID-19 positive cases.
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By URN
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