On the 18th May, 2020 at 21:14 hours, the President of Uganda, General Museveni through the covid 19 state of nation address announced loosening some of the previous restrictions which had been imposed to Ugandans as a way of fight the spread of coronavirus. Here are my own lessons learned during this pandemic.
The new changes followed the President’s previous state of the nation address which saw wholesalers, some companies, garages and a few others being allowed to work again, although maintaining the recommended Ministry of health guidelines.
Due to the way we understand things differently, General Museveni on the 19th May, 2020 clarified on the 18th May, 2020 state of the nation speech as follows.
- Shops selling general merchandize will open provided they are not in the shopping malls, shopping arcades and food markets.
- The heroic market women that have slept in the work places for all these days, will be allowed to go home and come back to work daily if they want to.
- Public transport will resume but with strict regulations. Mini-buses, buses, taxis, tuku-tukus can operate provided they carry only a half of their normal capacity. Public transport won’t operate in border districts for another 21 days.
- Boda bodas won’t carry passengers yet. They should continue to carry cargo as they have been doing during the time of the lock-down.
- Bars, night-clubs, gyms, saunas, swimming pools and hair-salons, will stay closed for another 21 days since they cannot easily observe the rules of social distancing.
- The International borders of Uganda and the airport will remain closed so that we do not import additional cases from outside.
- Education institutions can open but only for finalists/candidate classes. There will be no first-term examinations. Social distancing is a must. Other learners will wait for now.
Ugandan police officers and members of Local Defence Units (LDU) patrol during the curfew after 7pm in Kampala, Uganda, on April, 29. The President will clarify on instructions they are to enforce.- Curfew from 1900hours until 0630 hours , remains in place for another 21 days.
- Food restaurants can open as long as the clients observe social-distancing and there is no air-conditioning which spreads the virus.
- People with private cars will be allowed to drive as long as the car does not carry more than 3 people, including the driver.
- All the other restrictions will remain in place for 21 days
Now that you have got a more clear picture, over to you. Remember, Covid 19 is one of the deadliest viruses which kills, and continues to spread. You can learn more by following WHO’s situation dashboard.
