Police stop private vessels connecting to Kalangala

Police in the island district of Kalangala have suspended operations of private vessels plying the Entebbe–Kalangala route to stop the spread of deadly coronavirus.

Mr Innocent Ochan, the officer-in-charge of marines in Kalangala District, on Tuesday said the new travel measure starts with immediate effect.

“We have been instructed by the commandant of marines at the police headquarters to stop all vessels carrying passengers exiting or entering Bugala, Kalangala’s main island,” Mr Ochan said in a telephone interview.

Currently, there are three private vessels plying the Entebbe-Kalangala route. They include MV Vanesa, MV Natalie and SENCATA .

“Only vessels carrying food items with not more than two or three people are allowed to sail,” he revealed.
Mr Ochan said only MV Pearl, which links passengers from Masaka to Kalangala Islands, will remain operational but under strict guidelines.

“The operator of MV Pearl has to limit the number of passengers on board and also ensure they are all sanitised before boarding the ferry,” he said. Ms Margret Ssempagama, the proprietor of SENCATA boat, confirmed receiving the directive to suspend operations.

“The vessel was on its way from Kalangala to Nakiwogo Entebbe [when the directive was issued], we had already made preparations to take our clients back to Kalangala,” Ms Ssempagama said.

Meanwhile, marine police also banned all passenger boats from Kenya and Tanzania that connect to islands in Buvuma and Mukono Districts.

Ms Agnes Nabirye, the Buvuma Resident District Commissioner said the Kiyindi-Buvuma ferry will continue operating but only carrying 130 passengers. The changes were announced hours after Ministry of Health confirmed an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country early this week.

One of the confirmed Covid-19 cases is said to be a resident of Nyende, a suburb in Masaka Town.
The case reportedly jetted into the country from United Arab Emirates at the weekend and is among the 16 people who were quarantined at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital.

Dr Stuart Musisi, the head of the rapid response team at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital said the confirmed Covid-19 case has since been transferred to Kampala for treatment.

“It is true that one of the nasal swab samples we sent to Uganda Virus Research Institute for analysis was returned last night [Monday night], and tested positive. Our team held a crisis meeting with Ministry of Health officials and agreed that we start identifying key contacts of the victim immediately,” he said.

Compiled by Sylvester Ssemugenyi, Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa & Wilson Kutamba

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