The President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will on Tuesday evening address the public through television channels to clarify on the new guidelines on coronavirus he issued on Monday.
The President banned all people to people movements including those using private means. “Some private car owners have turned their cars into taxis, transporting the two people we had permitted, assuming that they would be members of one’s family, when in fact they were passengers being charged the exorbitant fare of shillings 50,000/- from Kampala to Jinja. Hence, the problem we were trying to cure of allowing the mixing of people from different sources was not being addressed. Instead, it was taking new forms. The people with private cars were now the new public transporters without licences and facilitating the dangerous mixing in the process. Secondly, even more importantly, even if the private car owners had been disciplined and only moved around with only the 2 members of their families, still that movement would be dangerous because we do not know who has the virus now and who does not, given the penetration of the imported cases into the society, short-lived though it may have been. The ban on privately owned passenger vehicles will take effect from 2200 hours (Ten O’clock ─ Shaaha inna ez’ekiro), today, the 30th of March, 2020. I would have given the public time to adjust but on more scientific study, it was found that this would be a wrong policy. Why? A longer time would give people time to try and go to the villages. In so doing, they may transfer the sickness. We, would, then, not be curing anything. This freezing of movement will last 14 days from the 1st of April, 2020. This time it is not Fool’s Day; it is wise-person’s Day,” the President ordered
He also ordered the closure of shopping malls, arcades, hardware shops, which gather alot of people to sell and buy non-food items. He said the suspension would last for 14 days.
“All the non-food shops (stores) should also close. Only food stores, stores selling agricultural products, veterinary products, detergents and pharmaceuticals should remain open. The Ministry of Health should work out SOPs for those stores. Many people should not be allowed to congregate there and form lines to buy. Home deliveries should, instead, be encouraged,”he added.
Salons and lodges were also directed to shut down, among other meaures. The new guidelines have, however, been misintrepted by many. According to the Press secretary, the President will clarify on his directives at 8pm.
Uganda has as of today (March 31st, 2020) recorded 33 cases of coronavirus.
