By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has tested positive for Covid-19.
Museveni, 78, gave this hint in a state of the nation address at parliament grounds in Uganda on Wednesday.
This comes as his personal physician insists the President is in a “robust health”.
The Ugandan President said one of the three Covid-19 tests he had taken in the morning of Wednesday turned out positive for the virus.
“This morning, I was feeling as if I had a cold. I took a rapid Coronavirus test which indicated negative. I did two more tests with deeper analysis. One of them turned out positive, the other was negative. So, I am a suspect of Covid as I speak,” Museveni said, explaining why he came in a separate car with First Lady, Janet Museveni, who had accompanied him to Parliament.
However, Dr.Diana Atwine, his personal doctor who also doubles up as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health said that the president was in ‘robust health’.
“Today June 7, the President tested positive for Covid-19. This was after developing mild flu-like symptoms. However, he is in robust heath and continues to perform his duties normally while adhering to SOPs,” Dr. Atwine tweeted.
According to a Uganda publication, Daily Monitor, the state of Museveni’s health comes amidst concerns raised by the opposition over the new regulations imposed on testing for Covid-19 before meeting the president, which they termed as ‘wastage of public resources.’
“The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to Covid -19 as a global health emergency. However, Museveni continues to waste public resources to specific companies owned by individuals close to the regime on Covid tests whenever he meets people both at his home and other parts of the country,” opposition leader Mathias Mpunga told a local publication.
