Uganda: MOH gives clarification on allegations by COVID-19 patient in Masaka hospital

Mary Aliona, a COVID-19 patient who is currently admitted at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda has decried the dire situation at the hospital and asked President Yoweri Museveni to intervene, according to a news report by Nile Post.

Aliona who was admitted at the hospital last week alleged in a video that has since gone viral on social media that while she was diagnosed as an asymptomatic patient of COVID-19, the situation at the facility is life-threatening.

She said, "We rarely see doctors. Doctors get here once a day to drop a medication that has no name. As for me, the doctor didn’t even explain what kind of medication this is."

"Where is all the food that the Ministry of Health gets in donations? We eat very little food and a glass of water," she added.

She has addressed the issue of hygiene. “We are human beings, not animals. Some animals sleep in better conditions than us at the moment, "Ariona said.

While filming the toilets at the facility, she added, "We are in pain. Look at the toilets that Ugandans are using. They have no running water. Just drops."

Ministry of Health has confirmed that Ariona was indeed admitted at the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 at the Mutukula border point while trying to cross to Tanzania.

The Ministry has shared a tweet in their official Twitter handle and has given the clarification on the video recorded by a COVID-19 patient.

PRESS RELEASE: @MinofHealthUG clarification on the video recorded by a COVID-19 patient at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital #STAYSAFEUG pic.twitter.com/S4lEdtLFqy

— Ministry of Health- Uganda (@MinofHealthUG) June 28, 2020

The Ministry has said that the patient had exaggerated the situation because the ward in question was a temporary improvisation as the hospital is widening its bed capacity and all patients will be transferred to a better facility once the renovations are done.