Ugandan hospitals under pressure amid COVID-19 pandemic second wave

Uganda is under the pressure of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the East African nation's hospitals feel the strain of a surge in cases across the country.

Regular reports through late May and early June show some of its highest daily case totals since the beginning of the global health crisis.

President Yoweri Museveni's government has since imposed restrictions on domestic travel -- as a coronavirus prevention sanitary measure, in response to the pandemic's intense second wave in the country.

Dr Joyce Kalungi, a doctor at Mulago Hospital, outlines the current state of affairs.

"The situation is dire. We are officially having what we would refer to as a second COVID wave so we are admitting lots of patients who are critically ill.

"First of all the rate of the number of cases that we are registering per day is going higher and higher. I think as per last week I hope I have the stats right but probably 1,000 patients tested positive."

As rural areas in the country do not have as many infections, authorities have also recalled coronavirus vaccine doses to big cities -- where outbreaks are more prevalent.

Emmanuel Ayinebyona, Uganda Ministry of Health spokesperson:

"The demand for the vaccine has more than doubled following this upsurge in the number of cases reported. And also we are almost completing the 964,000 doses we received both from the COVAX facility and the also the Indian government, 100,000 doses."

According to Johns Hopkins University, Uganda reports -- as of Thursday, more than 55,000 infections and 392 deaths linked to COVID-19.