SAD NEWS: Tears as Ebola Kills Ambulance Driver

A driver of an emergency ambulance officer has succumbed to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) as the fight against the viral haemorrhagic disease continues, and as the disease spreads to more districts across the country. 

Uganda is currently battling an outbreak of the Ebola disease that was confirmed in September 2022. Recent figures from the country’s Ministry of Health (MoH) indicate that at least 46 people have succumbed to the viral disease out of the 131 that have been confirmed to have contracted the disease. The Ministry is also following up on about 2,200 contacts.

Although it was first confirmed in the district of Mubende, Ebola Virus Disease has now been confirmed in a total of eight districts, including the capital Kampala. Other districts in which Ebola has been confirmed include Kassanda, Kyegegwa, Bunyangabu, Kagadi, Wakiso, with the latest district to confirm a case of a woman who has since succumbed being Masaka.

Of the 46 official Ebola deaths, some are health workers, including a hospital boss from Mubende (SAD! Tears as Ebola Kills Hospital Boss). Now, another frontline worker, an ambulance driver has also succumbed to the disease. The deceased ambulance driver has been identified as Alex Ndizihiwe.

“We have lost an ambulance officer to Ebola, Alex Ndizihiwe (RIP),” announced MoH spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona. “May God comfort his family members and friends.”

Ndizihiwe’s colleagues who work with the Emergency  Medical  Services  of  Ministry of Health honoured him near the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU in Mubende. The Sub-Saharan Branch of the Uganda Red Cross Society in Mubende District serves as the Ambulance Command Centre for the Ebola response team.

It was at this command centre that the team of drivers gathered to honor Alex Ndizihiwe (RIP) who was an emergency medical technician (EMT) attached to the MOH Ambulance who sucumbed to Ebola from Entebbe Hospital.

Meanwhile, President Museveni has made it clear to Ugandans that they should not worry about a national Ebola lockdown, saying there will be NO LOCKDOWN. (Read Details Here).

MORE ON UGANDA’S EBOLA FIGHT

The district of Kassanda has recently been said to be the epicentre of the disease. Here, efforts to stop the spread of Ebola have been negatively affected by ignorant locals who have made it a habit to exhume bodies of Ebola victims to perform rituals under the cover of night and re-bury the bodies.  Due to this ignorance, 23 people tested positive for Ebola after exhuming the body of an Ebola victim in one village. At least three of those who participated in this act have already died of Ebola. (Read Details Here).

The Ebola fight in Uganda also recently suffered a huge blow after the Ministry of Health and the US Embassy in Kampala refused to give funds to Minister Dr Ruth Aceng and her ministry, but instead gave the money to agencies engaged in the fight against Ebola. US Ambassador Natalie Brown made it clear that officials at Dr Aceng’s Health Ministry are known to be corrupt and could steal or divert the Ebola cash. See Story Here).

Meanwhile, ahead of this years Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Uneb has announced that it has established a special examination center for candidates (pupils) who have tested positive or been exposed to Ebola. (See Details Here).