Uganda has recorded 11 more COVID-19 cases according to information just released by President Yoweri Museveni.
Addressing the nation Tuesday evening, Museveni said Uganda National Virus Research Institute [UNVRI] had tested 176 people and 11 were found positive.
“All these were children of the Watoto choir who are still in quarantine. They picked it from outside where they had gone,” Museveni said.
The 11 new cases bring to 44, the numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases in Uganda.
The 11 cases also bring to 12, the number of Watoto Choir who have tested positive for COVID19. One of the choir members tested positive over the weekend.
Meanwhile, President Yoweri Museveni has said the media is part of the essential services that must continue working, as most of the country is put under lockdown.
“Media is a service that should continue like electricity, like water, like medical, they are powerful, so their vehicles will also get stickers. That will be handled by the Ministry of Transport,” Museveni said.
He equally said people who work in banks should also be allowed to drive to work although they should be alone in the car.
Some bank employees have had their cars impounded by security officers who were deployed on the roads to enforce the orders.
“For the customers, I wouldn’t encourage driving. Either walk to the bank or use mobile money, but for the workers, they should get stickers but they should move alone in the car. The three passengers [directive] was abused,” Museveni said.
On Monday, Mr Museveni said that UPDF, Police, Prisons and UWA vehicles would be allowed to move on Uganda's roads.
For the diplomats, he said they should also be allowed to move in their diplomatic vehicles specifically either to go to the market for food supplies or to hospitals for medication.
On the inconvenience of having to call Resident District Commissioners for waivers to transport the sick and expectant mothers to hospitals using private cars, Museveni said, the RDCs must deploy dedicated officers who must be on duty for 24 hours.
He said if they allow everybody to issue waivers to use private means for transport, it will cause chaos. Many people across the country had complained that they were calling RDCs for special permission to travel using private means but many were not picking their calls.
Museveni reiterated his message to all government employees at the district to surrender their cars to the District Health Officers to be used for emergencies.
“Public servants who refuse to hand over their cars can just be arrested…they are idiots, they are drunk with power,” Museveni said.
The president also ordered the release of cars that were impounded yesterday as a result of his order halting the movement of all private vehicles by 10 pm.
“I was aware that there could be some confusion and I did it deliberately, we had to surprise you to stay where you are. We didn’t want to give you time to run around... So, I direct the police that if you impounded any vehicles yesterday because of the ambush which I organized, I give them amnesty but they shouldn’t go anywhere,” Museveni said.
