The Minister of Information, Communications Technology (ICT) and government spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba has said government of Uganda is concerned about the laxity the Ugandans continue to demonstrate despite several deaths due to covid-19.
In a statement released today, Nabakooba said it is unfortunate that despite the deaths and rising community infections in Uganda, many people are still failing to go by the preventive measures provided by government in the efforts to limit the contagion.
She said government is specifically concerned about the situation in Kampala where all key markets and shops in down town are no longer following the recommended measures. She appealed to Ugandans to reflect on their attitude towards COVID-19.
Nabakooba said Ugandans ought to understand that it is their responsibility to protect themselves and the lives of their loved ones by adhering to guidelines against COVID-19.
So far, Uganda has 4 confirmed covid-19 deaths registered in a period of 2 weeks with more than 50 positive cases registered over the same period.
She noted that if the prevailing situation is not reversed, government may opt to reinstate stringent restrictive measures if there is no tangible change.
“I want to call upon market leaders all over the country to enforce the wearing of masks, washing hands with soap for everyone including social distancing. I also want to remind all arcade operators to always go by the operating guidelines that they agreed upon.” Nabakooba said.
Before a directive to authorize re-opening of business operations in arcades was issued, a set of guidelines including mandatory wearing of face masks and washing of hands at entrances were issued as preventive measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.
All these measures, Nbakooba said have been ignored, putting lives of many Ugandans at risk.
Nabakooba noted that soon government will start enforcing the wearing of face masks and there will be no excuses for not wearing one since government has been distributing free masks. She said so far, about 8 million masks have been distributed countrywide ever since the exercise started.
She also reminded private car user to adhere to existing guidekines against covid-19 that were issued by President Museveni.
In his latest nation address, private cars were authorised to carry only a maximum of four passengers including the driver, and they all must put on face masks. She said it has come to government’s attention that majority of the private car users are no longer complying to this directive.
As to politicians who are preparing to engage in political campaigns, Nabakooba said all must stick to the guidelines set by Ministry of Health in prevention of COVID-19 and ensure protection of people by avoiding crowds to avoid the risk of infection.