Majority of patients at Iganga main hospital have abandoned their beds
for fear of contracting COVID 19 virus.
By the time this reporter visited the hospital yesterday, almost all the
wards were empty with no patients except a few like the maternity and
children’s ward.
In the male ward there were only two patients while the remaining 243 beds were empty.
Yakuti Bogere, a patient in the male ward said he was shocked to see
patients neighboring his bed pack up all their belongings saying they
rather die at home instead of contracting the deadly COVID 19 virus while at the facility.
hours to avoid being detected by security guards, “he said.Bogere who sustained a deep fracture during a boda boda accident said he decided to remain behind after being convinced by one of the health workers the following morning that he was safe and would not contract
COVID 19 while on admission.
The hospital administrator, Doctor Stephen Waako said members of the public started spreading false rumors on social media saying all
patients at the facility would contract the COVID 19 virus since its airborne.
disease and how its spread that caused panic amongst patients,” he said.Waako said the number of patients at the facility had also reduced as
a result of suspension of public transport since most patients
came from the neighboring districts of Bugiri, Namutumba, Kaliro and
Luuka.
He said the number of people seeking service for other ailments like HIV-AIDS, cancer, malaria at the Iganga main hospital had also
drastically reduced since the second wave of the pandemic hit the country.
The district health officer Iganga, Doctor David Muwanguzi cautioned
members of the public against isolating people who recover from COVID 19 saying it promotes stigma amongst patients.
be you, your son, daughter or mother,“ he said.
