While addressing the nation about the ongoing COVID-19, Museveni urged Ugandans to learn to value and prioritise their lives.
On Monday, President Museveni said that Ugandans should stay alive and healthy and have their businesses and jobs suffer as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Museveni who was addressing the nation about the ongoing COVID-19 urged Ugandans to learn to value and prioritise their lives first in everything they do rather than their daily activities and businesses.
According to the President, in recent weeks, they have tried to educate the general public on how to control the spread of the coronavirus but many locals are reluctant to observe the guidelines in place such as wearing of face masks. He warns that if the disease escalates, containing it’s spread might call for even tougher restrictions.
“Ugandans should know that if the disease escalates it may call for resumption of the restrictions to contain the disease spread and reduce deaths among the population,” Museveni said calling for calmness from those whose jobs have been heavily affected.
He said despite the lockdown hitting hard big sections of people, the government is happy and very determined to see that Ugandans do not succumb to death as a result of the virus.
“The guiding logic in all this is not wealth, business, jobs or convenience. It is life. Do we live even when businesses suffer and jobs are lost or do we continue doing business, making money and die? I, unhesitatingly, choose life.
“That is the logic. Moreover, with discipline, we can even have both: life and wealth. This is provided we do what is recommended,” Museveni explained.
Meanwhile, the President also advised the public to comply to all the measures in place such as the washing of hands with soap, wearing of face masks in public spaces and maintaining of social distance to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Museveni, in particular, pinpointed Kikuubo market in Kampala in addition to other crowded downtown settings that are not adhering to the guidelines. He said they are posing favourable grounds for more cases.
“There is a need to ensure compliance to COVID-19 prevention measures including wearing of face masks in public spaces, hand and environmental hygiene, among others. More effort is needed in areas with poor compliance to prevention measures such as Kikuubo in Kampala and other crowded down-town settings, some supermarkets that do not regulate the number of shoppers or enforce the use of masks, crowding around small shops in suburbs, etc.
“There are also several people who do not wear their masks properly and leave their nose and/or mouth uncovered with the masks hanging on the chin. This renders the masks useless,”
Museveni said adding that these incidents of non-compliance pose a risk to all Ugandans and may lead to further spread of the infection.
