COVID-19: President Museveni suspends all non-food markets for two weeks as additional guidelines on the SARs-Cov-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease
On Sunday 29th March 2020, COVID-19 cases in Uganda rose to 33, this prompted the President of Uganda to issue more measures including suspending non-food markets, in addition to the earlier in the move to prevent and control novel coronavirus spread in the country.
In his speech, President Museveni suspended all non-food markets countrywide restricting the market to only foodstuffs for 14 days starting April 1st, 2020.
He suspended shopping malls, arcades, hardware shops, non-food stores because they gather a lot of people who could expose them to the risk of contracting and spreading the deadly SARs-Cov-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.
Museveni further stressed that human and animal pharmacies and drug stores shall remain open including agricultural products. However, he cautioned that home deliveries should be embraced to avoid crowding which exposes them to the risk.
“All the non-food shops (stores) should also close. Only food stores, stores selling agricultural products, veterinary products, detergents and pharmaceuticals should remain open. The Ministry of Health should work out SOPs for those stores. Many people should not be allowed to congregate there and form lines to buy. Home deliveries should, instead, be encouraged.”
Also, in the new directives supermarkets are exempted but asked to restrict a number of buyers entering in including subjecting every individual to washing hands and sanitizing the trolleys handles to prevent the spread of the virus.
“The Super-markets should remain open but with clear SOPs that should restrict numbers that enter and leave the site at a given time and the handling of trolleys within the super-markets. A lot of people can be infected by handling the unsterilized trolleys within the super-markets,” Museveni said.
Food markets around Kampala City and other towns are allowed to operate during this period however under strict guidelines.
Individual selling foods are asked to keep four meters away from the other seller and the buyer to the front, right and the rear end.
The President also stressed out that food sellers in the market should arrange to stay near the market for the 14 days because movement from home to the market can expose them to the dangers of contracting the deadly virus.
“The sellers must not go home during the 14 days. They must arrange to stay nearby for that duration. That movement between workplace to home and back is part of the problem. How are the people you left at home and how do you move to work if there is no public transport? It is that mix that we want to freeze? Between home, en route and workplace. Be in only one place for 14 days and we see what is happening.”
The president in his tough measures suspended all private vehicles, exempting boda bodas, trucks only carrying food items and other deliveries like drugs and agricultural items including government vehicles.
