Museveni closes borders, bans international flights

President Museveni on Saturday evenning ordered the closure of all Ugandan borders for both exits and entries starting midday on Sunday.
The president who said the new measures are being put in place because of the indiscipline of the travellers who have abused the quarantine in Entebbe, has also closed the Entebbe International Airport to international passenger flights starting Sunday midnight.

“To prohibit all incoming passengers whether by air, water or road. In order to actualise this, we have decided to prohibit all passenger planes coming from outside Uganda from landing at any of the airports of Uganda. Only the cargo planes will be allowed to fly into and outside Uganda. Also to be allowed are planes on account of emergency or UN planes doing relief work,” Mr Museveni ordered.
He said the crews of the cargo planes and UN planes will be accommodated in places that will be identified in consultation with authorities in those places.
“Domestic flights will continue for now but we may change later because those planes are not safer. Since we don’t have cases now, the can continue flying” the President added.

The President who said the East African Community (UAC) member starts have not yet agreed on joint collective measures to avert the spread of the Covid-19, all the borders are going to be closed with only cargo trucks allowed in and out of Uganda.
“ No person, Ugandan or otherwise, will be allowed to enter Uganda by water or land except for those drivers and accompanying crews-not exceeding three for cargo transport vehicles such as trailers, lorries and other cargo vehicles” he stated.
In the same directive, cross border passenger vehicles will stop leaving or entering Uganda starting midday on Sunday.
“No buses, taxis, no minibuses, no saloon cars, no boda bodas will be allowed in the country. Also pedestrians walking on foot or riding on bicycles will not be allowed to enter Uganda by water, by road or by footpath nor will they be allowed to exit by those means” the President said.

Mr Museveni, to put these new measures into force, called upon the Local Council one leaders in the border areas to work with security personnel to enforce the new orders.
Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo are Ugandan neighbours that are already battling the Covid-19 cases.