Leaders want truck drivers screened

Authorities in Luweero and Nakasongola districts have asked the Ministry of Health to screen long distance truck drivers plying the Kampala-Gulu highway to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Local leaders say the drivers make stopovers in various towns hence interacting with residents.

“At Kasana Town in Luweero, more than 100 truck drivers make a stop over each day while about 25 of them spend their respective nights in the area,” Mr Ronald Ndawula, the district chairperson, told a Covid-19 taskforce meeting last week.

Ms Phoebe Namulindwa, the Resident District Commissioner, said while sensitisation meetings target residents who have tried to adhere to preventive measures and presidential directives, truckers are free to move across all common borders.

“I believe that our district health team can link up with the Ministry of Health to ensure that we get a quick feedback on this matter. The spot checks should be mandatory at particular areas as advised by the health teams,” Ms Namulindwa said.

“The situation in Luweero Town could be complex since we have the South Sudanese community who reportedly take advantage of these trucks to travel while some of the truck drivers could make stopovers to briefly check on their relatives. We can deploy security agencies to enforce this measure once government endorses it,” she added.

Dr Innocent Nkonwa, the district health officer, said they had 144 suspected Covid-19 cases under isolation by last week.

“A total 120 people have already tested negative with 24 pending results at the Uganda Virus Research Institute. The district has no confirmed Covid-19 positive case,” he said.

In Nakasongola District, authorities want spot checking for all truckers at Kakooge Town.

Dr Agaba Byamukama, the district health officer, said the Covid-19 taskforce had already endorsed the move.

“It is true that many truck drivers prefer to make the long stopovers at Migyera Town, a distance of about 33kms from Kakooge Town, but we have tactfully decided to have the spot checks done at Kakooge Town,” Dr Byamukama said.

“We have not registered any positive Covid-19 case from Nakasongola, but we now have one of the high risk areas that includes the Kampala-Gulu highway that is the transit route for trucks entering and exiting Uganda for South Sudan, DR Congo and Kenya,” Mr Agaba said
Last week, information emerged that Ugandans and other foreign nationals trapped in South Sudan were sneaking into the country using cargo trucks.

The passengers are loaded into the containers from South Sudan and are offloaded 37km into Uganda at Atiak border town in Amuru District upon crossing from Elegu border in Amuru District, sources said.

By yesterday, the country had 54 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Seven patients have so far been discharged from Entebbe General Hospital after recovering from the deadly disease.