Uganda to Reopen Medical Schools to Tap Interns as Virus Spreads

(Bloomberg) -- Uganda will reopen medical schools on Sept. 28, more than six months after they were closed along with other education institutions due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The decision comes on the heels of a surge in infections, with an urgent need to boost staffing at health facilities, according to National Council of Higher Education spokesman, Saul Waigolo. Authorities will allow final-year students to return and ultimately enroll for internships at health facilities, as the term of the current pool of trainees expires.

The East African nation had 32 Covid-19 deaths and cases more than doubled to 3,112 in less than a month as of Monday. Health facilities in the capital, Kampala, have run out of beds and authorities are rushing to expand a treatment center that will be able to take 2,000 people, the New Vision newspaper reported Monday.

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