By Keefa Nuwahereza
The Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and National Guidance Hon. Judith Nabakooba, has warned that government might be forced to extend the Coronavirus Health Guidelines if Ugandans to stop their indiscipline of not observing the COVID-19 directives that were issued by President Yoweri Museveni and the Ministry of Health.
During a presser held on Sunday, Nabakooba said that the Ministry of Health has told Government that the clusters of community infections that have emerged are a bigger threat than that of truckers.
She noted that there are dangerous practices such as boda-bodas carrying passengers, people not wearing masks, failure to observe social distancing among others, which she said may force Government to consider extending the lockdown.
“I want to warn members of the public that unless we change and fully adopt the existing guidance on prevention of COVID-19, Government may consider imposing strict lockdown measures in order to prevent the country from slipping into a bigger outbreak,” she said.
She added that the biggest concern is that community infections have started to rise up against the pandemic yet many Ugandans no longer want to practice the existing guidelines on prevention of COVID-19 pandemic like washing hands frequently wearing face masks or maintaining social distance.
This comes at a time when Uganda is experiencing a steady increase in the number of locally transmitted cases in 33 districts with Amuru and Kyotera reporting the highest number of local transmission cases compared to other districts.
The Minister also noted that majority of the people coming into towns and public places don’t want to put on their masks; those trading in some of the key markets and zones such as Kikuubo, Kalerwe, Kasubi and in other
towns are doing so without any form of social distancing, while many others were no longer washing hands with soap or sanitizers, which endangers their lives and those of other innocent Ugandans.