Imminent third Covid-19 wave to delay school reporting, holidays - MoES

Primary Seven candidates at Buganda Road Primary School stand at the assembly ground observing the 2m spacing and wearing masks as they are checked before they enter class in March 2021. A recent spike with grim Covid-19 milestones in Uganda will delay the planned school reporting and holidays for some classes. PHOTO/FILE

What you need to know:

  • Faced with an imminent third Covid-19 wave and anticipating a Sunday night presidential address on Covid-19, the nation seems to be destined for a return to some major restrictions adopted through 2020.
  • While many now seem ‘freshly’ adherent to renewed calls for SOPs observance, legions of adamant people say the nation’s Covid-19 cases are scam.

‘‘On account of the widespread reckless behaviour,’’ President Yoweri Museveni warned Friday that Uganda was ‘‘now entering a new Covid-19 phase with a wider spectrum of new variants that may be more dangerous.’’

On the same day, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) issued a statement informing stakeholders that ‘‘the planned reporting [back to school] and breaking off for holidays be delayed until further notice.’’

Reporting to school for P1-P3 pupils as well as semi candidate classes (P6, S3 and S5) that was set for June 7 has since been deferred to a yet to be known date. 

The MoES letter also urged that breaking off for holidays for the P4-P5 pupils that was due June 4- be adjourned.

The health ministry June 3 shared videos of over 12 ambulances queued, dropping off patients at Uganda’s national referral hospital, Mulago- in the 41million-people state that has officially registered 51, 006 Covid-19 cases, 3,245 of these occurring in the last 72 hours.

‘‘We recently hit a snag when India stopped exports of the vaccines. My advice to the countries exporting these vaccines is to be careful with this point,’’ President Museveni said on June 4.

A recent surge in Covid-19 cases has definitely forced authorities to intensify calls for mass vaccination against the viral disease that accounts for 374 fatalities amid fast-reducing numbers of available jabs.

‘’It is embarrassing to let down anyone that trusted in your solidarity by saying because you are in great need- saying those who depended on your solidarity can go to hell,’’ Mr Museveni explained on the decreasing number of medical supplies during the annual State of the Nation Address at Kololo Independence grounds.

While many now seem ‘freshly’ adherent to renewed calls for SOPs observance, legions of adamant people say the nation’s Covid-19 cases are scam.

‘‘They (government) made people stop believing in Covid-19 because we kept hearing that they were using it politically and to eat money,’’ 25 year-old Kampala City resident, Martin Mugerwa said.

Faced with an imminent third Covid-19 wave and anticipating a Sunday night presidential address on Covid-19, the nation seems to be destined for a grand return to some of the major restrictions adopted through 2020 to combat the spread of the virus, especially in metro and hard-hit areas.

‘‘On account of the tough measures we took quite early, we avoided the sort of catastrophe we saw in other countries,’’ Mr Museveni noted while explaining how 47, 760 recoveries had been registered since the March 19, 2020 outbreak.

Conforming to science, President Museveni ripped some nations saying their egocentrism '‘is a good thing for arousing the most indifferent- that Africa must take care of itself.’'

‘‘Our scientists have developed diagnostics ready for manufacturing. Our therapeutics have been tried in 53 patients and we need a minimum of 124. With our vaccine, we are at phase 4/9,’’ he revealed.