On the 6th Oct. 2020 l posted a short message of appreciation to the Health workers at Entebbe Ref. Hospital. l did not want to mix that message with my other observations. Today l want to share with you the obsevations.
On the 25th. Oct. 2020 my cancer condition escaleted and l was admitted at IHK Namuwongo. l found a new hospital policy requiring all admitted patients to test for covid. My results returned the following day indicating l was postive and l had to be taken either to Mulago or Entebbe. l asked why l could not be handled at IHK and l was told IHK was not accredited to deal with COVID cases and l wondered why but any how l complied. I was then transfered to Entebbe that evening around 9 PM.
Before we started our journey, l inquired about the fate of my wife who was taking care of me at the hospital. The response was swift. Let her go home, no test and no quaranteen. That was also quite strange.
I made another proposal, that l should be left to go home and let my wife handle the situation but l was told, that was not one of the options available for me.
When we arrived at Entebbe, l was handed over to a team which took me through the preliminary procedures then they showed me a bed in a big dormitory where l stayed till morning.
After breakfast l was again transfered to a VIP room in a seperate building. l asked why and the doctors told me that this is where patients who have other complications (like my cancer) are kept and monitored. I then informed the doctors about the story of my wife and added that l had left 15 persons at my home including young grand children but they didnt seem scared and we closed the conversation.
I was fed on very good meals of my choice all the time.
On 2nd Oct. a new sample was taken from me and two days later results were back indicating l was negative and therefore qualified to be discharged.
Throughout the ten days l stayed at hospital l was never given a single pill for covid save for the cancer medicine and good food. Friendly doctors visited and checked me 3 times a day.
My observation therefore, was as follows:
There seems to be two seperate operations; one is professional (doctors) who provide you with excellent care and the second is military who examine the samples and they are the ones who therefore determine which ones should be positive at one time and negative at the other.
The military unit is the one which transports COVID patients to hospital (l found young men who were brought from Katuna) but they are unavailable on your discharge to take you where you were picked from.
There seems to be a carefully designed scheme of determining new COVID cases, those who are recovered and then the deaths.
As of now, l have formed part of the infected and also part of the treated and recovered. (Uganda zaabu).
The ldea of testing contacts and contacts of contacts was abandoned long ago, without anouncing.
The military component of the COVID task force has deliberately kept silent about the self isolation which seems to be the current methodology.
I did not see any complicated medical or other procedure which either IHK or my wife could not handle.
Hussein Kyanjo is a former MP for Makindye West.
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