President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged Ugandans living in villages to avoid “unnecessary travels” to Kampala, to stay away from the country’s capital for a while in order to avoid catching coronavirus.
Museveni made the appeal in his televised national address on the COVID-19 situation in the country on Saturday amidst reports of increased cases of infections in different parts of Uganda.
Amidst the scare of the new wave, the president observed that a big portion of the country has very few cases and thereby appealed to the population in the countryside who do not have urgent issues that require them to travels to Kampala and Wakiso Districts which have a high concentration of infections, to say there.
“I am here once again to remind you that the COVID-19 variants are here with us, these are even affecting young people. Our numbers are rising quickly and the onus is on everyone now not to let your guard down,” Museveni said in a broadcast carried live on national TV and radios.
Museveni said he had just come to sound a warning to the whole country about the dangers of not adhering to COVID-19 prevention measures.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Health reported 690 new confirmed virus infections with one death. However, it was noted that that nearly 600 of the new cases are contacts and alerts registered in Kampala and Wakiso districts.
Museveni blamed the rising numbers of cases in these areas on negligence by the city dwellers that he said have ignored the recommended personal preventive measures against COVID-19.
“Our success together hinges on minimizing infections and managing the infected quickly. If we don’t control numbers, health facilities can’t cope. If we have got many people, how will we concentrate on them? If numbers are too many, hospital beds will be overwhelmed,” he said.
Museveni said in the course of the week, he will meet with the National Task Force on COVID-19 to determine how to proceed as a country. He said he will then address the nation regarding the decisions taken.
The president said the Ministry of health guidelines must be fully implemented to avoid overwhelming the health system with many cases.
He also added that while the numbers are increasing, the situation is still manageable. The president said that adherence to wearing face masks and avoiding gatherings would go a long way to control the numbers.
In addition to the other preventive measures, president Museveni said the use of vaccines is the most effective way to control the disease. “Since vaccines are the best option of fighting the pandemic, President manufacturing countries like India should reconsider the ban slapped onto the exportation of vaccines since such acts undermine international cooperation” He said.