Usually teeming with soccer fans, the Mandela National Stadium, Uganda’s main stadium is now a temporary hospital for Covid patients. About 90 people are currently being treated there as the country battles a 130% increase in cases in the past two weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) says, plunging the country back into a partial lockdown with barely any vaccines available to offer protection. The sharp uptick of cases, believed to be fueled by different variants circulating in the country, has surprised public and private hospitals, and many have struggled to meet the constant demand for care. The second wave in Uganda has hit the young hard, with those aged between 30 and 39 the worst affected, according to the Ministry of Health. Those aged 20-29 have recorded the second-highest number of positive cases. Like many African countries, Uganda has severe vaccine shortages. It has fewer than 20,000 Covid-19 vaccines left and under 2% of the population has been vaccinated. The possibility of continuous, more vicious waves looms.
SOURCE: CNN