Anxiety has hit Uganda Parliament after a female legislator tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, July 14.
A source at parliament says female lawmaker is admitted in one of the city hospitals
Meanwhile, the source who is familiar with the matter at Parliament revealed that many other legislators who had come into contact with a positive colleague have since rushed to get tested — raising fears that the number of the positive cases could rise once their results are released.
The MP who is said to be in the hospital is a ranking member of the ruling party who by virtue of her office, is feared to have exposed herself to many of her colleagues-with confidential sources indicating to more than 10 legislators had gone for tests after learning of MP’s hospitalization.
“I have just been tipped to get out of Parliament that [a] Ugandan female MP [has] tested positive for coronavirus…the information should be made public why are they hiding it,” MP Odongo Otto wrote to one Parliamentary WhatsApp Groups.
Both the source and MP Odongo Otto confirm that the female was in Parliament on Tuesday.
A recent update by Ministry of Health confirms that one of the three coronavirus cases identified on Wednesday was identified from Kampala
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A source at Parliament said the female MP is said to have contracted the virus after interacting closely with the family member who recently returned from abroad at one the quarantine centres.
“There is a major scare. Many of those who interacted with her have had to go for tests, and this figure might even be high by Thursday (tomorrow) when the results of the majority who have gone for tests are released.
Another Parliament staff who spoke on condition of anonymity, not to be seen as discussing the health status of her colleague said the MP interacted with others freely during a Tuesday sitting.
A senior official from Clark’s office was not aware of any Covid-19 case among the MPs or members of staff but added that since medical matters are a private affair, they would not know unless the affected publicly disclose their status.
The official said it was possible for a legislator to privately undergo tests and not disclose, and as such, Parliament may not know of such cases.
“If true, it would be a matter of great concern, but as of now, there is no report made to us of any case,” the official said.
The official said they have been ensuring that the regulations put in place to avoid the spread of the virus to Parliament are strictly followed, revealing that they had been regularly disinfecting the institution’s critical areas and committee rooms and offices.
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