Places of worship open, bars remain closed

The faithful received with relief and delight President Museveni’s directive last night to reopen places of worship, 96 days after he closed them during the second Covid-induced lockdown that he imposed on June 18.
Schools, which have been closed for a similar period, will begin opening their doors with tertiary institutions on November 1, while other students will resume classes next January.

The partial lifting, Mr Museveni noted, will be in strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs), among them, regular washing of hands with soap or sanitising with alcohol-based solutions, keeping two-metre social distance and mandatory wearing of masks.  
Last night’s proclamation means churches and mosques can immediately resume operations, but the number of worshippers at any one time should not exceed 200.

Capping the congregation at 200 has raised questions because some worship buildings are small to take in that number of worshippers, if they have to comply with SOPs, while others are gigantic enough to absorb higher numbers with strict adherence to the safety measures.
The directive to reopen worship places during the President’s televised national Covid-19 update, was unsurprising following sustained vocal demands by religious leaders, who argued that the faithful are more likely to respect SOPs at church or mosques than free-wheeling shoppers or vendors would at markets and malls opened at the end of July.

In addition, some of the religious leaders also filed a case against the government over the continued closure of worship places in a country in which, according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos), up to 93 per cent of citizens profess one or other religion.
Majority national leaders of mainstream religions were unavailable last night to comment about the unlocking of the houses of God, but on twitter, other faithful celebrated.

“It shall forever be known that on my birthday, @KagutaMuseveni allowed churches to reopen,” tweeted a one Bwiza Sunshine, The Baroness.
Dr Paul Kasenene, again on twitter, wrote: “Thanks for listening to our plea to reopen places of worship. They are so instrumental to all aspects of life”.
While to journalist Kassim Kayira, the “best picks” from last night’s presidential address were “all places of worship to reopen … boda boda motorcycles confiscated by police must be released immediately”.

In the directive, Mr Museveni, who occasionally drifted from a prepared text, said:
“The places of worship can now open under the following conditions: Limit the number of worshippers at any one time to not more than 200 provided the place of worship can ensure physical distancing of two metres on both side and adequate aeration. There must be strict adherence to all SOPs at all times.”

He also directed that there will be no congregation for worship after curfew hours, which is 7pm to 5.30am.
Guests at weddings, confirmation and other ceremonies as well as mourners at funerals can now number 200, up from 20.
In another proclamation, a subject of noise and ridicule on social media, Mr Museveni reopened casinos, gaming, betting shops --- which almost all operate bars --- but stiffened the lock on pubs and bars where he said it was impossible to find “soberness”.

“In fact, in the bars, it is the opposite of sobriety,” he said, citing improper judgment by the tipsy, staggering and failure to observe social distancing.
He, however, allowed gyms, which he previously categorised as Covid transmission hotspots, limiting its operating hours to latest 6pm.
The President also directed that weekly markets, which are open-air, resume with strict adherence to SOPs and the curfew hours. However, no such markets in Soroti, Kampala, Kalungu, Kabale, Kumi, Tororo, Gulu, Nwoya and Yumbe --- all characterised by the Ministry of Health as hotspots due to pandemic resurgence there --- will be allowed to operate.

He directed the Minister for Health to follow up the hotspot districts and review their situation for safe re-opening of the weekly markets after two weeks. He also asked the various local governments, cities and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), working with the National Gaming and Lottery Board, to inspect the various betting outlets for suitability and adherence to SOPs before opening.

Closed
In the televised address, the President tied full reopening of the country to the vaccination of at least 4.8 million Ugandans clustered in the priority and vulnerable groups, among them teachers, non-teaching staff, members of the security forces, those aged 50 and above, as well as younger individuals with other comorbidities. 
  
The government plans in total to vaccinate 21.9 million citizens, but is currently far short of the target.
To date, only 1.7 million Ugandans have been jabbed, which is one-quarter of the initial 4.8 million threshold, itself a minuscule portion of the nearly 22 million people eligible for inoculation.

Worse, about 600,000 of those vaccinated have got the required double shots, meaning many nearly double this figure are half-way defended against coronavirus, yet Mr Museveni and his wife Janet, the Education minister, had broached a proposal to inoculate all pupils aged 12 and above before schools reopen.
Scientists poured cold water on the blueprint on grounds that younger people are less likely to suffer severe illness if they catch Covid, meaning targeting them for jabs would divert the meagre vaccine doses away from the older and vulnerable populations that need it most to safeguard against possible fatalities.

The President last night refocused on immunising adult students, who number 300,000, alongside their teachers and other critical school workers.
He said while infections in children below 18 years are often mild and they recover quickly, many of the 15 million learners are day-scholars, who once infected, go back home and infect their parents and grandparents that may subsequently die.

“To avoid a similar scenario, the National (Covid-19) Taskforce, on several occasions considered conditions for safe re-opening of schools which included; vaccination of teachers, non-teaching staff…plus all the other priority population,” he said.
The figures presented by Mr Museveni indicated that to-date, out of the targeted 550,000 teachers, 269,945 have already received the first shot, while 96,653 have received the second dose. This leaves a total of 280,055 outside the vaccination circle.

He said the Ministry of Health will work with that of Education to support head teachers to carry out surveillance and early reporting of suspected cases in schools to the district and city taskforces once the schools open, warning that concealment of infections at schools will attract immediate sanction.
Mr Museveni, flanked at the address by, among others Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja and Health Minister Ruth Aceng, directed sector stakeholders to follow up the use of rapid antigen self-tests with the World Health Organisation, and once approved, inform the Ministry of Education and Sports to consider their use in schools.

He also said concerts, disco halls, bars, performing artists and beaches tend to congregate large numbers and are difficult to control. 
“With the level of vaccination still low, I direct that these remain closed until at least the 4.8 million priority population is vaccinated. Bars are a high-risk area where individuals have no sobriety to observe the SOPs. They will be considered for re-opening when the 4.8 million priority population is vaccinated,” he said.

Cinemas also remain closed because according to him, the local cinema halls are areas of immense crowding and mostly have poor aeration and are designed to have artificial ventilation systems.
The President maintained restriction on movement of persons and ordered that curfew remains in place, from 7pm–5.30am, and boda bodas should stop operations at 6pm, in part for security reasons.

Vaccination
According to Mr Museveni, the government has continued to carry out extensive mobilisation of Covid-19 vaccines and by the end of December, about 12 million doses of different types of vaccines would have already been procured from multiple sources and countries.
He said currently, the country has 2.3 million doses of vaccines available at the National Medical Stores, out of almost 12 million doses are expected by year end.

The President tasked resident district and city commissioners, who are his appointees and representatives in their jurisdictions, as well as chief administrative officers and district health officers, who are civil servants, to intensify mobilisation of communities to boost vaccine uptake, warning such officials in districts where vaccines will expire of dismissal.

Directives

1    Curfew time at 7pm to 5.30am.    Maintained
2    Boda-bodas allowed to move up to 6pm.    Maintained
3    Mourners at burials    200 mourners allowed
4    Weddings.    Attendants increased to 200
5    Places of worship    Maximum of 200 worshippers
6    Indoor sports activities including gyms, pool tables remain closed.    Opened but close at 6pm
7    Casinos, gaming and betting    Opened but close at 6pm
8    Theaters and Cinemas.    Remain closed
9    Performing artistes and concerts    Remain closed
10    Bars    Closed
11    Saunas and Steam bath remain closed.    Opened
12    Primary and Post Schools    Remain closed until January 2022
13    Post-Secondary Institutions    Resume on November 1, 2021
14    Seasonal markets.    Opened