Patrick Ajuna, the Ntoroko District Health Officer, says that the intervention follows an upsurge in COVID-19 cases registered in the district yet residents are still reluctant to observe the Standard Operating Procedures-SOPs.
Ntoroko has embarked on constituting health
facility Rapid Response Teams-RST following a surge in coronavirus cases in the
district. The district has registered over 200 positive COVID-19 cases
and 7 deaths as the country battles the second wave.
According to the district, the Rapid Response Teams will
operate from each of the seven health facilities in the district and help with
contact tracing and surveillance. Each team will be under the
leadership of a health worker trained in Covid-19 and Ebola management, laboratory and records
personnel.
The district is also reactivating isolation centers
across the health center III and IV's to handle people with mild-COVID-19 signs.
Patrick Ajuna, the Ntoroko District Health Officer, says that the intervention
follows an upsurge in COVID-19 cases registered in the district yet residents are
still reluctant to observe the Standard Operating Procedures-SOPs.
He says that they cannot only rely on the district
task force to control the spread of the virus. According to Ajuna, they
have secured 800 COVID-19 test kits for distribution to all government medical
facilities to expedite COVID-19 testing.
//Cue in: “Each of the health…
Cue out: …doing the rapid testing.”//
Ajuna says that the surveillance team will also look
at border health security with the increasing influx of Congolese running away
from the insecurity in DR Congo.
//Cue in: “Given the influx…
Cue out: …in the district.”//
Mesaki Kawamara, the Ntoroko Resident District
Commissioner and head of the task force, says that they have also incorporated
Sub-county chairpersons on the task force to increase awareness.
William
Kasoro, the District LC V chairperson, says that the majority of people fear
reporting to health facilities because of stigma. He says the teams could help
in raising awareness and identifying suspects.
//Cue in: “People do not want…
Cue out: …isolation centres.”//
Sibihwa Gundi Zephaniah, the LC III
chairperson of Nombe Sub County has asked the government to support
chairpersons financially so that they can effectively mobilize the communities.
He
says the majority of them lack means of transport to reach out to all community members
in their sub-counties. By Friday, two Isolation centers had
been re-opened at Rwebisengo and Karugutu HC IV’s.
