Uganda on total lockdown as Museveni orders shops closed, bans movement

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has announced a total lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus.

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In a statement on Monday night, President Museveni faulted citizens for not following earlier measures that had been imposed.

“I made directives in my previous communication and since then, we have been monitoring the situation. We have realized there are still windows through which COVID-19 can still spread. We, therefore, think there is less risk in maximum restriction for a limited time than gambling with the assumption of the extent of the COVID-19 spread,” he said.

The Ugandan President said citizens would no longer be allowed to move from one place to another and banned the use of private vehicles.

“After much consideration, we have decided to prohibit all people-to-people movement including those using private means. This is because some car owners have turned their cars into taxis,” he said.

The ban on private transport was effected at 10:00pm on Monday.

According to Museveni, he did not give earlier notice on the ban because “this would cause more trouble as people would try to go to villages and instead transport the COVID-19 disease.”

Other measures announced include:

• Curfew from 7:00pm to 5:00am except for cargo transporters
• No gatherings of more than five persons
• Government vehicles to provide help in health emergencies
• Food markets to continue to operate but under precautions of a distance of 4 meters between buyer and seller

The measures will be in effect for 14 days.

On Tuesday morning, President Museveni confirmed that Uganda has so far recorded 33 cases of coronavirus: 31 Ugandans and 2 Chinese.