By Crispin Adriaanse 
47m ago
Cape Town – Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has closed schools and places of worship and has forbidden social gatherings for 42 days as the Covid-19 situation in the East African country has “dramatically changed”.
On Sunday, Museveni announced a number of revised Covid-19 mitigation measures in a national address that was broadcast on all television and radio stations across the country, according to his official social media account.
I will address the country TODAY on the resolutions and measures passed by the National Task Force on COVID-19. Tune in to the different radio and TV stations across the country starting at 8:00pm to follow the address. pic.twitter.com/msgrDk7mrV
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) June 6, 2021
Uganda recorded its highest number of confirmed cases in one day since Covid-19 first landed its shores, with 1,259 cases on June 4, Museveni stated.
The country’s capital city, Kampala, has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus.
Museveni said the increase in cases was due to the citizenry’s non-compliance witch mitigation measures, such as wearing masks and washing hands.
He said schools showed many clusters of infections. This was mainly due to inadequate sanitation facilities, overcrowding, concealment of infections and lack of observation by school administrators in identifying symptoms in pupils and reporting it in a timely fashion.
As of June 6, all learning institutions, religious gatherings, public gatherings such as bars and concerts, weekly non-food markets and cattle auction markets have been suspended for 42 days.
All public transport across and between districts is banned for 42 days as of June 10.
Attendance at ceremonies such as weddings and funerals has been limited to 20 people, with strict adherence to physical distancing and mask-wearing. Furthermore, a 30% capacity will be enforced at places of work for 42 days.
Museveni said 748,676 Ugandans have been vaccinated with the first or second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Uganda has prioritised the vaccination of 4.8 million citizens, including health-care workers, teachers, people over 50 and security personnel.
As of June 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed a total of 51,676 cases of Covid-19 in Uganda, with 374 deaths.
African News Agency (ANA)