By Spy Uganda
In a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, President Yoweri Museveni has said Sunday evening that he has deployed military personnel, police and other security agencies at all 103 entry points into Uganda, to ensure that no foreigners cross into the country.
President Museveni issued the directive is his second National Address about the killer Coronavirus (COVID-19), which broke out in December 2019, but has since become a world Pandemic, with the first Ugandan patient having been recorded by the Ministry of Health on Saturday March 21, 2020.
During his national address, President Museveni also said he was still assessing whether to ban public means of transport as part of the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
He said that; “Now, the only remaining thing is public transport. That’s what I’m still struggling with in my head. If you don’t have your private means of transport, don’t use public transport. Stay at home. Where are you going? I’m thinking of having temperature monitors at disembarkation and embarkation points of these public means of transport. I don’t want to ban them but I’m trying to discourage you (citizens) from using them.”
He added that “Before I came here, I was watching UBC when I saw a confused young man called Obuku who used to make a lot of noise speaking nonsense, but this time he spoke some sense, I heard him telling people to stay home, so coronavirus shouldn’t be underestimated because it’s making some people speak sense.”
According to the President, there was a possibility that the confirmed case, a 36-year-old male resident of Kibuli, Kampala, picked the virus on his way from Dubai where he had travelled for a business trip. The confirmed case is said to have travelled to Dubai on March 17, 2020 and returned to Uganda on March 21, before he was identified and quarantined.
“They have told me about his people (Patient). They have checked them (family members) and it seems they have no serious sicknesses. There’s a possibility that he (Patient) picked the virus from Dubai,” the President said.
Avoid Shaking Hands
Museveni also reiterated the Ministry of Health’s warning about shaking hands, hugging, knocking elbows or getting into physical contact with people in any way possible. He discouraged shaking hands saying it could help prevent the spread of the pandemic. “No shaking of hands. I see you people knocking elbows; elbows for what! I have seen you and greeted you. Why do I need to knock your elbow? Those are idiotic things,” he said.
Advice To School Children
“To the school children that were sent home, please stay home, do not loiter, the address we sent you to was home, not the trading centres, otherwise reckless movement poses a risk of contracting the virus. The other day I was telling you how we survived smallpox of 1881. It was by staying home. It killed some people but those who stayed home survived” On Closing Bars Museveni said that “Night clubs and bars are not workplaces. They are ad-hoc and anybody comes in and that’s where the danger is. Therefore, they should all be closed. Unlike offices where they know each and everyone who comes in and leaves”
Washing Hands Is A Must
He also warned Ugandans to wash their hands often with soap or sanitizer, and to avoid touching sensitive spots like their noses, eyes, lips and lips. “Please wash your hands at all times. In offices, you could have someone go around with disinfectants cleaning tables, chairs and other surfaces. But at a personal level, wash your hands frequently and don’t touch your delicate parts like nose, mouth and eyes… The way I see, this virus is easy to defeat if you follow the NRA way. This is a war of people. I’m here to lead the people’s war, like I led the village people [in 1980s]. We defeated HIV/AIDS with the ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful and use of Condoms) strategy.”
He concluded by saying that “Finally I want to decampaign ignorance, we have been trying to get some schools to quarantine these people but some of them believe in superstitions that it will leave for them Bisirani (bad luck) of Coronavirus. I will talk to Mama Janet and her head teachers who I thought were people from university but unfortunately are governed by superstitions. We want to identify some schools which we can use for quarantines because the hotels are becoming expensive.”
