Billionaire founder and Chairman of the Ruparelia Group, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia has urged Ugandans to continue strict observance of the government guidelines on COVID-19, saying that in the interim, this remains the best option of avoiding catching and spreading the disease.
Dr. Sudhir, briefly spoke to CEO East Africa Magazine in a phone interview today, after a test he took yesterday, September 22nd for the disease returned negative.
“Covid-19 is here with us and it will be for a couple of other months. We have to live with COVID-19 for at least the next 18 months when experts say a vaccine may be possible. It is important to observe all the SOPs issued by government both at home and out of home as well as to practice extra personal discipline. We need to fight this together and for each other,” he said.
The tests were taken at the Makerere College of Health Sciences’ Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology.
Regarding the pandemic’s impact on the Ugandan economy, Dr. Sudhir said that given the circumstances it was important to strike a balance between the economy and healthcare concerns as both were equally important.
“I would like to commend government’s progressive efforts on re-opening the economy. In the same spirit I would like to urge the business community, employers, school owners, employers, etc., to fully cooperate with government by enforcing all the SOPs at our premises,” he said.
Results of COVID-19 tests done on 21 September, 2020 confirm 244 new cases, pushing cumulative confirmed cases of Ugandans to 6,712. Total recoveries stand at 2,778 while total death currently stands at 64 cases.
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The Ruparelia Group, one of Uganda’s largest business conglomerates with investments in financial services, real estate, education services, hospitality, agriculture and media/broadcasting amongst others.
Last week, Covid-19 claimed the life of 86-year old Francis Xavier Kitaka, a billionaire Ugandan biochemist, veterinarian, entrepreneur, and industrialist founder of Quality Chemicals Ltd and MTK Uganda Ltd among other enterprises.
While addressing the country on September 20th, President Museveni the country cannot remain closed indefinitely and the impact of the pandemic can be minimised if government Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on the management of the disease are observed.
“We cannot and should not remain in lockdown indefinitely,” Mr. Museveni said adding: “The economy must grow; otherwise, bigger problems may show up.”
