The current pandemic situation has changed lives all over the world. News about the virus alter often; what yesterday was a new trend will tomorrow be highly unlikely. Covid-19 leaves scholars scratching their heads and forecasts on how and when we will be able to travel again are as likely to come true as fortune cookie notes.
In this blog post, we will recap on what has been done in Uganda to try and contain the pandemic. We will regularly update the article to keep you in the loop, especially if you are planning to come and visit us soon.
President Museveni during one of his addresses to the public (source Museveni Facebook)
7 March 2020
The government has decided that travellers from affected countries like Italy, Spain, Germany and UAE will have to undergo self-isolation for 14 days. Incoming guests who show symptoms at arrival are immediately transported to a nearby hotel, where they will spend 14 days of quarantine at their own costs. 100 USD per day. Within days the flow of tourists halts, and tour operators and drivers lose vital business due to last minute cancellations.
18 March 2020
While the crisis in Europe and North America gets more threatening by the day, Uganda has been so far spared by the virus. However, in the president’s first public address, he suspends public gathering spots for 32 days. From Friday 20 March 2020 all schools, churches, mosques, bars and clubs are suspended. Weddings and funerals, which traditionally involves hundreds of people, can only occur within the core family. All festivities and gatherings with more than 10 people are to be postponed until after the mentioned period. Travellers coming into the country will be put under forced quarantine for 14 days at their own cost. From Thursday 19 March on, businesses are responsible to provide hand washing facilities.
21 March 2020
Uganda has its first Covid-19 case, a traveller from Dubai, who arrived at Entebbe Airport with a slight fever. In a second address to the people late at night, Museveni declared the closure of the Entebbe airport and borders from midnight on Sunday. Repatriation flights to Europe and the US are still possible in the upcoming week, but passenger airplanes must arrive empty and the crew is not allowed to leave the machine during their stay at the airport. From now on only cargo planes and lorries can pass the borders. Kampala citizens with houses and families in the villages are deserting the capital. Prices for public transport are skyrocketing. Museveni warns vendors at the markets of hiking prices for fruits and vegetables and sends out officials to control the prices.
Baboons getting used to the low traffic (source: Fort Portal Everyday Facebook)
25 March 2020
Confirmed cases rise to 14. The president therefore decides to suspend public transport for 14 days. Private vehicles are allowed to carry up to three people. Boda Bodas (motorbike taxis) are prohibited to carry passengers but can still carry cargo, for example for food deliveries from the markets and restaurants. In the markets trading of non-food items has been suspended. Police all over the country have evacuated the markets, some with teargas and violence.
In the villages and towns in upcountry, government officials have received funding to educate the communities on Covid-19, there are testing hubs in bigger towns and samples will be transported there.
Fort Portal at 7 PM (source: Fort Portal Everyday Facebook)
30 March 2020
Covid-19 cases have risen to 33. The country will be put under lock down for 14 days from 1st April on. Only essential work will continue. Private vehicles are not allowed to be used from 31st March on, as some have been using the three-passenger-per-car rule to still transport people to places all over Uganda at incredibly high prices. Boda Bodas can deliver shopping from supermarkets to people’s homes. There is a curfew from 7 PM to 6:30 AM to ensure security during the night. If someone needs to get to the hospital or take other necessary trips, they will have to contact the RDC of their home area for permission to use private vehicles. People with essential jobs receive stickers from the government, so that they can drive to work and home. Politicians who distribute food and money to poor people, will be charged with attempted murder, as they are encouraging people to leave the house and gather in groups to receive the aid. If someone would like to donate food and funds, they should do so towards the Ministry of Health.
Critical: Family-planning clinics have not been classified as essential.
3rd April 2020
The government addresses the people again to take measures and rules seriously. Security officers, law enforcers and soldiers using violence against people can be reported to the respective agency. Landlords are not allowed to evict from their homes because of delayed rent. Restaurants in Kampala and bigger cities throughout Uganda have been adapting to the new rules with online and telephone orders and Boda Boda deliveries. The first food relief will be provided on Saturday to the urban poor in Kampala.
8 April 2020
The president is again asking the public to take rules and taken measure seriously, stating that this is a measure of life and death. Jogging on the roads will be prohibited from 9 April on. Museveni will post a video online where he will show ways to keep fit at home. Boda Boda drivers must stop delivering goods by 2 PM.
President Museveni showing his work-out routine (source: Museveni Facebook)
14 April 2020
The stay home decision has been extended for 21 more days. Food support will go on in urban areas, where people have lost income due to the lock down measures. However the government will check whether the 2 PM curfew for motorbikes is sensible as we do not know why we put up this rule in the first place.
19 April 2020
The president is thanking everyone who is following the rules. However there are people who have been bribing the RDCs and counterfeiting stamps for the essential jobs to move around within curfew hours. These cars have been confiscated and people are awaiting their verdict. The 2 PM rule for Boda Bodas has been extended to 5 PM, but now bicycles which before could drive until 7 PM will have to be off the road until 5 PM as well. Museveni is thanking the health workers and scientists and said, that Uganda is trying to find a cure themselves.
28 April 2020
Even though everyone was expecting more easing of the lock down the government keeps onto their measures. In the last week the only cases popping up are from truck drivers delivering cargo from Tanzania and Kenya. Museveni therefore planned a relay system with which foreign truck drivers have to leave their vehicles at the border and Ugandan drivres will deliver the goods to their destinations. A complete closure of the borders is not to expect as Uganda relies on essential goods from both Tanzania and Kenya. Museveni instructed the MPs to come up with ideas on how to ease the lock down. He will speak again on Monday May 4th.
4 May 2020
Even though people were hoping that the lock down would be ended tonight the government decided to extend it for another two weeks. However there have been some eases: workshops, garages, hardware shops and wholesalers are allowed to open if they manage to achieve the health and safety measures. They should work without air condition but open windows, have 4 meter distance between staff and customers and provide hand washing facilities. Public and private transport are still prohibited. Upon leaving their houses and compounds, people must now wear face masks to protect themselves. Before the weekend there was a sense of change in the air however, possible plans to end the lock down and send children back to school have been crushed by the rising numbers of cases over the last few days. Especially the case in Masindi, where one police officer was tested positive without being linked to any of the known cases have made the nation more cautious. The other cases however are truck drivers from Kenya and Tanzania and were sent back to their countries. The number of case stand now at 98 with 55 recoveries.
You can find more information on the web pages and social media of the Ministry of Health, local newspapers The New Vison and Daily Monitor as well as on NBS Television.