President Museveni addressed the nation on Monday 4 May 2020 for the 13th times. Courtesy photo.
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Last Updated on: 7th May 2020, 07:38 pm
President Museveni has added two more weeks of partial lockdown, effective Tuesday 5 May 2020.
In his 13th Nation Address on coronavirus in which he gave guidance to the country, he said other measures put in place before will remain in place for the next two weeks.
Services and institutions to remain closed include public and private transports, schools, universities, cultural and religious activities among others.
However, insurance and law firms have all been allowed to resume operations on the basis that it will be rendering legal and insurance services to few employees.
Other services to resume operations are restaurants [directed to offer only takeaways]; warehouses, wholesale shops, hardware shops, repair shops and garages.
Mr Museveni did emphasise that Ugandans need to follow the Ministry of Health guidelines: maintaining recommended social distance, wearing facemasks every time, washing hands with clean water and soap or use of a sanitizer where there is no water.
He also advised those working in institutions allowed to resume operations to maintain social distance both at workplace and at home.
With the extended lockdown, curfew will be enforced from 7pm to 6:30am.
“When you are confronted with a new disease like COVID-19, you must answer three questions. One, is this disease vaccinatable? Two, is it treatable? And three, is it avoidable by behaviour?” he said.
“The answer to the 3 is that it seems eventually all 3 are possible,” he added.
President Museveni said experts in Uganda have started developing the coronavirus vaccine, adding that the process will take about 18 months.
“Vaccination is still being worked on. This will take some 18 months. Yes it is treatable. There is no specific medicine but if the body is supported, it can fight it off,” he added.
According to Mr Museveni, treatability of coronavirus depends on small numbers that medical workers can concentrate on.
Uganda has now tested 38,835 persons for COVID-19 and only 89 of those tested have been found positive.
More on the cure, he said the Ugandan COVID19 curve is quite flat. “Uganda has somehow tamed the virus but we cannot say we have eliminated it. I congratulate all Ugandans for undertaking the fight with selflessness for the good of the country.
Cargo trucks
Museveni has again ruled out stopping cross-border trucks coming to Uganda. Many foreign truck drivers have tested positive in Uganda and others are being tracked by the Ministry of Health.
He says such a move [stopping cargo] would mean Uganda is not fighting an intelligent war but urged her granddaughters to keep away from truck drivers.
Uganda now has 14 treatment centres at different Referral Hospitals across the country. Also, District Surveillance Teams can use the 100 sample collection hubs.
