An oxygen cylinder plant in Kampala, Uganda
KAMPALA, June 26 (NNN-Xinhua) — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced plans to start refilling 25,000 oxygen cylinders daily to meet the rising demand from COVID-19 patients.
Museveni was speaking Friday at the country’s national prayers against the COVID-19 pandemic held at State House Entebbe, 40 km south of the capital Kampala.
The president said regional and national referral hospitals will refill the cylinders through installed oxygen plants to keep pace with the novel coronavirus patients.
Uganda is facing a nationwide medical oxygen shortage due to a surge in the number of COVID-19 patients in High Dependency Units and Intensive Care Units.
“Right now the numbers (of COVID-19 patients) are more than triple than our production,” said Diana Atwine, permanent secretary at the ministry of health.
On June 16, the World Health Organization and the country’s health ministry announced plans to import medical oxygen as a virulent second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the country.
Uganda on Friday registered 1,025 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the national tally of infections to 76,562 in the east African country, according to the official figures. — NNN-XINHUA
