Health Ministry officials grilled for 100USD quarantine charges

By Francis Lubega

18^th March 2020

Members of Parliament have today tasked the Ministry of Health to explain why people coming into Uganda are forced to pay 100US Dollars for quarantine per night at Entebbe Central Inn.

Several people including Ugandans have complained that Government was taking them to Entebbe Central Inn, a hotel in Entebbe for self quarantine, and yet the hotel was charging 100 US Dollars (Approximately 374,000) shillings a night, for the next 14 days.

The development comes after the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID – 19) that is quickly spreading around the world.

The Ministry last week announced that those who come from the 17 high risk countries would cater for the costs of self quarantine. Some of the 17 countries are Iran, Switzerland, France, Germany, USA, UK, Japan, China and Italy among others.

Appearing before the Public Accounts committee of Parliament to answer on the status of the Coronavirus (COVID – 19) preparedness, the Health officials led by Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Diana Atwine told the committee that the Ministry lacked a place to implement the quarantine, and therefore they talked to hotel owners to support the Ministry.

Atwine says that although many hotels refused to host people who had traveled into the country for fear of a case turning out positive and stigma associated with the hotel, Entebbe Central Inn allowed to have people quarantine in their rooms, and they were also the cheapest charging 100 US dollars per night and that the ministry of health is in no way benefiting from them.

According to the Health Ministry, so far Uganda has tested 50 people who have all tested negative. So far nearly 200,000 people worldwide have tested positive for the Coronavirus, while 7000 people have died.