KAMPALA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Cabinet ministers in Uganda have approved the borrowing of 31.64 million U.S. dollars from the African Development Fund to boost the country's COVID-19 response measures.

A government statement issued here Thursday said the ministers met Monday and agreed that the money would be used to finance the revenue shortfalls to strengthen the pandemic outbreak response mechanisms.

The statement said laboratory testing capacity and diagnosis would be scaled up by at least 5 percent through provision of testing kits, consumables and accessories.

The current Intensive Care Units (ICU) would be increased by an additional 140 ICU beds distributed equally to 14 regional referral hospitals across the country.

Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment would be distributed in areas of mass gatherings including border points and at Entebbe International Airport, according to the statement.

Uganda, according to the Ministry of Health, is grappling with the surge in the number of COVID-19 cases since the first case was registered in March 2020. As of Jan. 26, the country had a cumulative total of 39,314 COVID-19 cases, 14,114 recoveries and 318 deaths since March last year. Enditem

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