The Fourth Division Military Hospital in Gulu City has temporarily suspended mortuary services to the public.
The decision follows the current outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which has so far claimed 24 lives since its outbreak in Mubende District last month.
Brig. Bonny Bamwiseki, the Fourth Infantry Division Commander on Wednesday disclosed that they have taken the step to minimize risks of Ebola infections at the military institution.
Bamwiseki also notes that other health services usually provided at the hospital have equally been suspended adding that health workers are conducting field outreaches to some of the patients, especially HIV/Aids patients.
He says health facility currently lacks specialists trained to handle suspected Ebola cases and machines for detecting the viral disease thus they can’t take the risk of continuing to receive dead bodies whose cause of death are unknown.
According to Gen. Bamwiseki, the facility will only be reopened once they get assurance from the Health Ministry on the decline in Ebola infections and the lifting of travel bans from the hotspot districts of Mubende and Kasanda.
Capt. Hassan Ahmed Kato, the Fourth Infantry Division Spokesperson told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that the hospital has now initiated a mobile clinic outside the military barracks to offer health services to the public.
“Due to the Ebola Outbreak, we have opened a mobile clinic that offers basic health services to the public outside the Military barracks. We however will refer other critical cases to the referral Hospital at the moment,” Says Capt. Kato.
This isn’t the first time the army has closed down the facility. in April year, the morgue was closed from the public for one month after UPDF engineers undertook its renovation. The Military Hospital Morgue serves the entire Acholi Sub-region and is one of the largest with a capacity of holding up to 30 bodies.
On Friday, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni imposed a travel lockdown for 21 days in the districts of Mubende and Kasanda in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.
The viral disease has since spread to three other districts of Kyegegwa, Bunyangabu, and Kagadi.