Health Experts warn over hurriedly lifting the lockdowns due to COVID-19

By; Jjunju Francis

14^th April 2020

Ugandans are anxiously waiting for the Presidential address any minute from now on the next move after the expiry of the of the ban on both private and public transport and Curfew yesterday.

On March 30, President Yoweri Museveni announced a 14-day lockdown in which he banned all vehicles except those carrying cargo and food stuffs as well as other businesses apart from food markets and supermarkets.

The president also announced a 14-day night curfew starting 7pm to 6:30 am every day that has expired yesterday.

Besides the ongoing 32 days ban on all schools that is ending next week all intended to control spread of the deadly COVID-19 Pandemic.

This comes as some countries including the worst hit by the disease are relaxing on the control measures like lockdowns and curfews in fear for their economies.

However Experts have warned governments that if governments yielded to economic and social pressures to lift their lockdowns prematurely, the move could allow COVID-19 to return according to the World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Christian Brechot, Institut Pasteur president and former head of French national medical research institute INSERM.

Uganda so far recorded 54 Covid-19 cases 7 of whom have been discharged and 15 others are also expected to be discharged from the hospitals in two days’ time. There already romours that cabinet in consultation from the health experts have requested government to extend the lockdown to at least two or three more days to trace a total of 18,000 alleged contacts who are in the public.

Samples tested by the Uganda Virus Research Institute Entebbe on April 13, 2020 all the 639 samples were clean. There are still 231 people in the quarantine who had travelled to high risk countries between February and March this year, followed up but many of their colleagues were leased last week and were safe of COVID-19.