Museveni Warns Ugandans, Advises Villagers to Avoid Kampala Over Covid

President Yoweri Museveni has warned Ugandans against relaxing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), saying this has resulted in the rise in COVID-19 cases again.

Due to the measures we put in place way before the lockdown (in March 2020), we managed to avert a crisis, Museveni said during his address to the nation on Saturday evening.

“Today, I am here to alert you because the COVID-19 numbers are rising again. Nantabulirirwa, yasabala lyabumba (meaning that the one who declined to heed advice against making a canoe out of clay ended up drowning),” Museveni said.

Gen Museveni also advised Ugandans in the village and other parts of the country to avoid Kampala and Wakiso due to the high number of Covid-19 cases.

He noted that those with serious reasons such as trade should consider travelling to Kampala.

The President said that he would next week meet with the task force and chart a way forward to counter the situation.

He warned Members of Parliament engaging in fundraising to stop it. “I hear some MPs are fundraising, and go to the fundraisings as guests of honour, stop that.”

“When I was swearing in (on May 12), I said that when we vaccinate 4.8 million people, then we can relax. These are people above 50 years (3.3 million), teachers (550,000), medics (150,000), security personnel (250,000), and people with other sicknesses below 50 years. But I don’t know whether this still stands now,” he said.

By Saturday, Museveni said the country recorded 690 new cases and the cumulative figure is 46623, with 362 deaths.

“The death is low by world standards, but we don’t want anyone to die of this avoidable disease. The situation is not too bad if we really wake up. Somehow God likes Uganda, there must be some reason,” Museveni said.