President Yoweri Museveni has tightened COVID-19 preventive measured by reinstating some of last year’s tough COVID-19 measures.
The measures have been brought back to forestall the spread of the virus in communities.
As of Friday, 68,778 cases of the disease have been reported in the country.
However due to an increase at the rate at which the disease is spreading , dwindling oxygen supplies in hospital and longer recovery times, the President said that country’s best option was to prevent spread of the disease.
The measures that have returned include; a ban on all non-essential movement, closures of schools for the next 42 days and the revising of curfew hours to start at 7pm from 9pm. Also, curfew hours have been revised to start at 7:00 pm and end at 5:30 am.
Previously, curfew has been starting at 9:00 pm and ending at 5:30 am. For bodabodas, curfew has been shorten from 6:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Motor vehicles and bodabodas will only be allowed to move to transport the sick to health facilities. However the president says all persons seeking treatment need to have written permission from an LC1, a Resident District Commissioner and a health worker.
The president has also closed for the next 42 days business centers nationwide. Populated areas like Kikuubo located in downtown Kampala will not be allowed to open. In addition to this, President Museveni also tightened the noose on bars and discotheques.
He asked all local government officials to cancel licenses of all bars that are found open during the lockdown. And rather than focusing on the revelers, it is now the bar operators to be arrested and heavily fined.
Sectors that will also remain closed are places of worship, schools and none food markets. Exempted from the movement ban are licensed tourist vehicles carrying tourist who are expected to follow all guidelines, and all Ugandans returning to the country and cargo vehicles.
However all persons in this category will have to undergo testing before and cargo vehicles will only be allowed to have a maximum of two passengers.
Sectors that will also remain open include: agriculture, industry, cargo, health, security and utilities. In addition to this, food markets will remain open. Just like last year, the president has stopped the vendors form moving and has rather urged them to sleep in the markets.
The vendors will be provided sleeping mosquito nets by the ministry of health. The number of persons accepted to attend public gathering has been retained at 20.
