Leaders order closure of beaches, markets

Authorities in Entebbe Municipality have ordered all beaches and weekly open markets in the area to close in response to the presidential directive of banning public gatherings as one of the measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The most affected are Kitoro market, which operates on Tuesdays, Nakiwogo and Central market, both open on Saturdays.
Entebbe operates majority popular beaches for its diverse marine sports and white sand. Every weekend, traffic on Entebbe Road comes to a standstill as many people head to the beaches.
Entebbe mayor Vincent Depaul Kayanja said Entebbe being the gateway for Uganda, some people may enter the country with coronavirus and relax at the beaches.
“…therefore, I urge our people in Entebbe to remain vigilant as we wait for the 32 days announced by the President [Museveni] to elapse and review progress,” Mr Kayanja said in an interview on Saturday.
While addressing the nation through a televised speech at State House, Entebbe on Wednesday, President Museveni ordered the closure of education institutions and stopped public gatherings and religious prayers for 32 days as a strategy to fend off coronavirus.
Mr Museveni said it was wise to take precautionary measures than to wait for the disease to strike .
Uganda confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Saturday. The patient, aged 36, is a resident of Kibuli, Kakungulu Zone in Kampala, who had travelled to Dubai in United Arab Emirates on March 17 for a business trip. He reportedly returned to Uganda on Saturday at around 2am aboard Ethiopian airlines.
Mr John Asiimwe, the owner Speenah Beach, Entebbe confirmed closing his premises, adding that this has paralysed his business .
“It’s true the beaches have been closed, on our side it’s a total loss because we all know revellers usually come from all parts of the country and converge here to enjoy the cool breeze at our beaches. The Easter season is around the corner and we really don’t know what we are going to do,’’ Mr Asiimwe said.
Similar measures have also been enforced in other districts such as Kalungu and Gomba, where several fresh food and cattle markets have been closed.
In Lukaya Town, Kalungu District, a popular roadside market, Lukaya Road Toll market, has also been shut down. Vendors at the market sell snacks and gonja (sweet plantain). The market also serves as a refreshment ground for revellers from Kampala to parts of Masaka Sub-region, districts of western Uganda and others connecting to the Tanzania, DR Congo and Rwanda.
Kalungu deputy Resident District Commissioner Sarah Nanyanzi yesterday said due to its strategic location on a highway, vendors are at high risk of contracting coronavirus and quickly spread it to surrounding communities.
“If markets have been closed in Italy, United States, China, Iran and other countries, why should Lukaya be exceptional? What we are doing is in your best interest,” she said.
Mr Joseph Wasswa Ssekitto, the proprietor of Lukaya market, said his staff had followed all guidelines issued by the Health Ministry such as putting sanitisers and water, for all vendors and customers to use.
“Our market is permanent like Owino, Nakasero and other markets, if those markets are still operating normally, why do they close this one?” he asked.
Dr Kaddu Nsubuga, the Gomba District veterinary officer, said they will not allow all cattle markets to operate in the area during this period. “We already have instructions to block all traders from accessing cattle markets. Those who defy this order will be arrested,” he said.
However, in Mpigi District, markets like Kayabwe, Buwama and Mpigi Central marketa, opened on Friday and Saturday without any interruption from police or local leaders.
In Kalangala Islands, the district health team and the Red Cross Society led by Dr Hillary Bitakaramire, the district health officer, have assembled volunteers on three major entry and exit points to the main island, Bugala, to oversee the mandatory washing of hands by all passengers before boarding or getting off the boats.
“We have put volunteers at Lutoboka, Bugoma and Mwena landing sites to watch over the this exercise as we devise other means to keep our people on the islands safe,” Dr Bitakaramire said on Saturday.

Situation
Coronavirus. The coronavirus pandemic first broke out in Wuhan, China last December .
At least 11,876 people globally had died from COVID-19 by Saturday, while an estimated 271,000 infections have been confirmed in at least 177 countries. By Saturday about 827 people in Uganda were about to complete self-quarantine while about 1,000 are under quarantine.

Compiled by Eve Muganga, Al- Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Muzafaru Nsubuga, Sadat Mbogo & Syvester Ssemugenyi