Kawempe Police Closed After Suspect Tests Positive For Covid-19

  • by Rodney Mponye
  • September 10, 2020

Authorities on Wednesday said they had temporarily closed Kawempe Police Station in Kampala for disinfection after a 15-year-old defilement suspect tested positive for Coronavirus.

Police said the teen, a resident of Bwaise village in Kawempe Division was arrested on allegations of defiling a three-year-old girl.

Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyango said the suspect was produced at Nabweru Court which remanded him to the juvenile remand home at Naguru.

“He was taken there but the officials at the remand home demanded for Covid-19 negative certificate before he could be admitted. Police took him for tests and the results came back when he is positive,” Mr Onyango said.

Mr Onyango added that the teen would be transferred to Entebbe Grade B Hospital for treatment.
According to him, the Ministry of Health on Wednesday took samples from all the staff members, family members and all the suspects in custody for testing.

“We are waiting for the results. The Ministry of Health has also started tracing for contacts of the victim. Tomorrow (Thursday) the Station and barracks will be disinfected. At the moment, we are not registering new cases at the station but attending to emergencies only,” Onyango added before advising members of the public seeking police services or have cases to register to go to other stations nearby.

The police statement came just hours after the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) said it had also temporarily closed Wakiso District office after one of the police personnel attached to it tested positive for the virus.

The Authority said Wednesday that the office had been closed to avoid any possible further spread of infections.
The Ministry of Health Wednesday confirmed 201 new Covid-19 infections as Uganda’s confirmed cases rose to 4,101 with 1,876 recoveries and 46 deaths since March 2020 when the pandemic outbreak was confirmed in the country.