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Dr Felix Kaducu (standing) makes his submissions to the district task force

Gulu University students to be screened for COVID-19

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Returning finalists of Gulu University will be screened for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ahead of the anticipated reopening of the university next month.

At least 1,500 finalists from Uganda and beyond are expected to report to Gulu University for their final year semester after President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni ordered for a partial easing of national lockdown. Upon clearance and guidance from the ministry of Education and Sports, primary and secondary candidates, as well as finalists in higher institutions of learning, are to go back to school and complete their studies. 

The huge student population has raised concern among the public and Gulu district task force who are debating possible ways of testing them in anticipation that some of them could be coming from hotspot areas prone to the infectious virus disease hence posing danger to the local population.

Dr Felix Kaducu, the dean of the faculty of Medicine reveals that the university intends to conduct a scientific survey which will be filled by the students online in order to know their health status. The details will be presented to health personnel upon arrival.

According to Kaducu, only students presenting high temperatures would have their samples taken for a lab analysis which will eventually reduce the cost of testing on the ministry of Health.

Bishop Loum Janani, the in-charge of integrated case management at Gulu regional referral hospital asserts that the coming of finalists from across the country and beyond poses an unprecedented burden on healthcare delivery.

Ministry of Education is yet to issue comprehensive guidelines on reopening schools to candidate classes as the country prepares to begin a phased lifting of the national lockdown.

Currently, there are up to 65 confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients at Gulu hospital and three of the cases have been confirmed from the community at the institutional quarantine centres.

Overall, the total number of confirmed cases in the country has spiralled to 317 with 69 recoveries from the over 80,000 samples tested since March, according to the ministry of Health statistics.