Common misconceptions on COVID-19 amongst Ugandans - Implications for National COVID-19 Task Forces in African countries

An observational study was conducted with 161 Ugandan respondents in the second week of April 2020. During this period, COVID-19 infections had started to increase in East Africa and Uganda was placed in total lockdown (March-May 2020). A pre-tested online questionnaire using Q-survey (https://www.qsurvey.qa/home/en) was administered with study participants through online resources i.e. email, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Viber. Study participants were encouraged to share the link to the questionnaire with family members and friends to enhance data collection. Financial challenges in this period implied that the response rate was low since a majority of Ugandans use prepaid mobile internet connection. The questionnaire was designed using major trending informal statements on COVID-19 to assess the knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 (Supplement file 1). Completing the questionnaire in full was not a mandatory requirement from participants and some questions would be skipped at will. Metadata was collected and only study participants whose current location was in Uganda was preserved for statistical analysis.<br>The data files open in MS Excel and SPSS for analysis.<br>0 = No1 = yes <br>Also on race,<br>1 = whites2 = All races3 = Asians4 = Africans5 = Not sure