Covid-19 lockdown looms in Uganda as Museveni set to address nation
Truck drivers wait in line in order to be tested for Covid-19 (the novel coronavirus) at Uganda's border post immigration in Malaba, a city bordering Kenya, on April 29, 2020.
What you need to know:
- President Yoweri Museveni said Friday that Uganda was experiencing a new wave ‘‘with a wider spectrum of dangerous new variants’’.
Ugandans will be glued to their televisions sets on Sunday night when President Yoweri Museveni will address the nation on a surge in Covid-19 cases.
“I will address the country today on the resolutions and measures passed by the National Task Force on Covid-19. Tune in to the different radio and TV stations across the country starting 8pm to follow the address,” Mr Museveni tweeted Sunday.
Mr Museveni said Friday that Uganda was experiencing a new wave ‘‘with a wider spectrum of dangerous new variants’’.
He is expected to announce amplified enforcement of regulations aimed at containing the coronavirus.
The economy
The country has registered nearly 4,000 cases in just four days hence the possibility of resorting to tough rules implemented in the past.
The President said: ‘‘Had it not been for the coronavirus, the economy would have been projected to grow by 6.2 per cent in FY2020/21’’. That target has dropped by about three per cent.
Mr Museveni, who had noted the importance of life above all else, will have to balance risks while declaring a return to restrictions in a country with a public debt of at least USh5 trillion.
A lockdown is seem as highly likely but a source who attended a Wednesday meeting on the pandemic said "an absolute lockdown was deliberated as an option far from consideration with the FY2021/22 budget in sight".
Citizen reactions
Citizens have varying opinions on the development.
Speaking while in isolation but on the path to recovery from the disease, one Andrew Aliguma, 25, said he supports tougher restrictions, not a lockdown.
‘‘The economy needs to be open. A lockdown would deepen the gap between the rich and poor as well as affect demand and supply chains,’’ he said.
Gift Kusasira, 31, said: ‘‘This new wave is serious. The other day my friend was buried. Several colleagues at work are sick. We’ve been told to work from home. We have no choice but to obey,."
City banker Amandah Kahinju said Covid-19 is here to stay like other diseases.
‘‘Even if they lock down the metro and hard-hit places, people roaming elsewhere will spread the disease. Covid-19 is very real and just like Aids and Ebola, it’s not going away soon. We just have to be careful,’’ she said.
Read: Four decades of Aids
Several challenges
Uganda's Covid-19 battle that was initially hit by cash theft scandals involving government officials is now impeded by fake news, diminishing medical supplies and conspiracy theories on its origins and vaccine impacts.
Godwin Japheth Walakira, a 21 year-old student, said he will defy the restrictions ‘‘because government officials just want to reap money from the situation".
Since confirming its first Covid-19 case in March 2020, Uganda has recorded 51,676 infections, including 47,700 recoveries and 374 fatalities. Nearly 750,000 people are vaccinated in the country with a population of 41 million.
