President Museveni has directed a 30-day ban of all public gatherings in Uganda as government monitors the movement of the coronavirus across the region.
Museveni shared the not-so easy decision in a crisis meeting held on Monday with top religious leaders at State House Entebbe.
The meeting had the Inter-Religious Council (IRCU) Council of Presidents in attendance, Heads of the Ministry of Health, and specialists from the medical fraternity.
During the shutdown, the president directed that no church services will be conducted, no Juma –Islamic Friday prayers will be held, and more restrictions have been imposed on social service centers like schools, Banks, and hospitals will be observed.
Supermarkets and will remain open during the shutdown.
Schools according to the president’s directive will start closing today, and by Friday all schools will have closed. Parents are expected to pick students from schools during this period.
President Museveni said he will make a pronouncement on public service institutions including prisons, army barracks and government agencies because their management is not so complicated.
Dealers in public transport have been directed to equip buses and taxis with hand washing facilities to ensure every passenger gets disinfected before and after boarding a vehicle, while people have also been advised to desist from restricted movement.
Details on how markets and other places where people source for livelihood will be communicated in the president’s address today afternoon, and respective circulars will be released to that effect.
In case of a coronavirus breakout, President Museveni said a lockdown will be enforced on affected areas as a standby team of health official take on the role of handling the matter.
