By Samuel Opio
President Yoweri Museveni will tomorrow Wednesday address the country on the COVID-19 pandemic at 5pm, his press secretary Don Wanyama has confirmed.
“ALERT! @KagutaMuseveni will tomorrow, Wednesday, address the country on the Covid-19 pandemic at 5pm. Address will be relayed live on TV and radio stations,” reads the tweet.
He is expected to outline new measures the country will take to address the pandemic that has so far claimed more than 7,000 people worldwide, including over 2,100 in Italy, the worst-hit country outside China.
Assistant Presidential Press Secretary Linda Nabusayi said PPU will relay the president’s address to all other media houses “because there will be no access to State House by other media Houses over Coronavirus”
“We shall be sharing with you the link and content for use” she said on social media.
The COVID-19 attack continues to transmit major economic shockwaves across the globe with countries limiting entries on their borders, people worried about moving to public spaces and so on.
China, which has been the epicenter of the attack, is the world’s second-largest economy and a manufacturing hub for some of the biggest companies in the world, including Apple, Tesla, Huawei.
Uganda has no case of coronavirus, although all her neigbours Kenya, Rwanda, and DRC have confirmed cases in the past week.
Tanzania and Somalia on Monday became the latest East Africa countries to confirm their first cases of coronavirus, as neighbouring countries shuttered borders and schools as fears of contagion rose.
As the global pandemic takes root in Africa, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma announced he was donating 20,000 testing kits, 100,000 masks and 1,000 protective suits to each of the continent’s 54 countries.
“We take precautions and get prepared ahead of time, as Africa can benefit from the experience and lessons of other countries that were earlier hit hard by the virus,” he said in a statement on Twitter.
In a little over a week, 21 new African countries have reported cases, bringing the total affected to 30.
In West Africa, Liberia and Benin also recorded their first cases Monday.
A 46-year-old Tanzanian woman tested positive for the illness after returning from Belgium on March 15, where she had been staying with a relative sick with coronavirus.
Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said the woman, who was recovering in hospital in Arusha, was not detected by temperature scanners but reported herself for testing.
“All in all, this is an imported case, and the woman is improving and continues with treatment,” she said.
Somalia, meanwhile, also confirmed its first case of coronavirus and announced a ban on international flights in and out of the country, starting from Wednesday.
The government had quarantined four Somalis as a precaution after they arrived from country’s with coronavirus outbreaks, and one had subsequently tested positive.
“None of the quarantined individuals had shown symptoms so far, and look healthy, but the virus is present in the body of this individual,” health minister Fowzia Abikar Nur said in a televised address.
The travel ban will extend to cargo flights but exclude humanitarian ones, transport minister Mohamed Abdulahi Omar said.
