Five crew members on MV Kalangala quarantined upon arrival from Tanzania.
MV Kalangala returned yesterday from Tanzania where it had spent 2months and upon arrival, all its five crew members were quarantined. The crew members have been in Mwanza, Tanzania where they had taken the ship for its annual servicing.
MV Kalangala which for left Tanzania on February 9th 2020, is now docked at Port Alice near Nakiwogo landing site in Entebbe.
Tanzania is one of the neighbouring countries with the highest number of COVID-19 cases with the latest number of cases at 507 and 21 deaths and 183 recoveries.
The officer in charge of COVID-19 Ward at Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital Dr Andrew Menya said they could not risk allowing the crew members of the ship to interact with the population fearing that they could infect the population with the virus.
“The crew members were tested before going to Tanzania and that was again tested when they reached. All results showed that they had tested negative. However, since they are from a country with rising infections, it is mandatory to test them again and be in quarantine until their results are out,” Dr Andrew Menya said.
The five crew members have presented no sign of the COVID-19 but they will still be in isolation for the next 14 days.
“Crew members are going to remain in isolation on the vessel for these coming two weeks and they aren’t allowed to go anywhere,” Menya added.
After the raising water of levels in Lake Victoria, MV Kalangala couldn’t dock at Nakiwogo Landing site and this forced its captain to dock 100 meters away. The UPDF has currently cordoned off the docking pier.
The Executive Director Nation Oil Distributors Ltd Mr Sadala Musoke, a firm that manages the ship says the risen water in the lake will affect the normal operations of the ship.
“The pier is completely submerged in the water and we just pray that the water recedes in the coming days so that our clients can be able to board the vessel without any difficulty,” Mr Sadala Musoke said.
Mv Kalangala was supposed to be serviced at Port Bell, Luzira but the site was occupied by another vessel, MV Kaawa. This prompted the government to take Mv Kalangala to take it to Mwanza on April 5.
The ship is the only means of transport to people and tourists going to Kalangala islands and it carries at least 200 people and 12 vehicles per trip.
Anyone currently travelling to Kalangala has to use ferries from Bungoma Landing site in Kalalangala and Bukakkata Landing site Masaka.
