Arua is one of the seven municipalities which were recently elevated by Parliament to attain city status effective today, July 1, 2020, as one of the initiatives to accelerate urbanisation through attracting direct investment and international support for infrastructure
Adjumani hospital laboratory currently has a capacity of testing up to 500 samples a day and West Nile collects between 90 and 150 samples from COVID-19 suspects.
In March, the management of Arua hospital resolved to relocate more than 20 mentally ill patients from the mental clinic to the Ear Nose and Throat unit. The mental unit was then gazetted as the COVID-19 treatment centre.
Parliament in April this year, approved the creation of 15 cities that will be operationalized in a phased manner starting with Jinja, Mbarara, Gulu, Mbale, Arua, Fort Portal, and Masaka that will start effective July 1, 2020.
COVID 19 suspects in the camps in Madi and Terego are also transported to Arua making the two quarantine centres congested. Recently, health officials decided to establish another centre at Goboro Health Centre III due to the increased number of new entrants to Bidi Bidi settlement in Yumbe district.
The task force team says that it requires up to 50 million Shillings to fix the vehicles, which were due for service before they were allocated to the COVID-19 team.
The four, who were quarantined together with 20 others, two weeks ago, took advantage of a heavy downpour and the subsequent power blackout between 7 and 10 pm on Saturday to escape.
The guard, identified as Jamal Rasul Musa, was picked up by a joint security team from his residence in Awindiri on Saturday afternoon following a tip-off by residents. Musa went into hiding after shooting Rashid Aiga on Friday night. The incident took place near Stabex Fuel station in Arua.
The three, all adult male truck drivers; two from Oli division and one from Dadamu Sub County, in Arua district are part of 29 locals who were admitted at the regional COVID-19 treatment centre after testing positive from Elegu border and some of their contacts.
The eviction was conducted by the Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Arua Sandra Ewacabo after the only quarantine centre at Arua Nursing School got filled up. Fifteen contacts are currently quarantined at the school.
For almost 30 years, Lazarus Ijoyi, also known as Ejoyi, has been a Catholic priest in Arua Diocese. But the past seven years have been anything but smooth for Father Ejoyi. Without a parish to call home, he's received letters of transfer, police summons, suspension, eviction notices, assault by a fellow priest and forceful eviction from a church house. URN revisits his bumpy journey.
During a weekly task force meeting on Thursday, the members reported that the 20 bed capacity of the hospital got filled up on Wednesday after two positive cases were admitted.
According to the Arua District Police Commander Dennis Ochama, who visited the scene of the crime on Wednesday, the minor, now a juvenile offender, picked a quarrel with his younger brother on Tuesday afternoon.
The first quarantine centre, at Arua Nursing school currently has up to 51 cases, more than its estimated capacity of 50 people. On the basis of this, the district COVID-19 task force had resolved that a second centre be set up at Arua Prison Primary School before moving on to Arua Primary School and Anyafio Primary School.
A group of 51 health workers who have been managing the COVID-19 positive patients at Arua hospital were released after four of the Tanzanian truck drivers were discharged and handed over to the Ministry of Health upon recovery.
