Uganda's ministry of health on Saturday recorded 423 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily increase since the outbreak, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6,017.

Out of the 2,320 samples collected over the past 24 hours, 411 contacts and alerts cases, 12 returnees from Saudi Arabia, India and Jordan tested positive for the novel coronavirus, said a ministry in a statement.

Out of the 411 contacts and alerts that tested positive for COVID-19, 166 are prison inmates under quarantine in Moroto,it said.

Out of the 306 samples collected from cargo truck drivers, none of the foreign cross-border truck drivers tested positive for COVID-19 at Uganda's common border point of entry, it said.

Two new COVID-19 deaths were reported in the capital, Kampala and central district of Mpigi, bringing the death toll to 63 in the east African country.

So far, Uganda has recorded 2,581 recoveries since the index case was reported on March 21, according to the ministry.