Kisoro, Uganda | URN | Government of Uganda has begun disinfecting all trucks that are entering the country as part of the country’s measures to forestall the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The disinfection process carried out by officials from the Uganda Red Cross begun today at the Bunagana border which crosses into Rwanda.
According to the Health ministry, both the inside and outside of the trucks will be disinfected to ensure that the virus does not stay attached to some objects and later find their way to humans.
Irene Nakasiita, the head of communications and public relations at the Uganda Red Cross Society says the disinfection is aimed at strengthening the country’s COVID-19 surveillance.
The ministry of health spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona says that all drivers who get to the Ugandan borders will have to undergo testing and the trucks disinfected too.“When a driver gets to the border, as their sample is being taken, the truck will undergo disinfection,” said Ainebyoona.
According to the Ministry of health, the trucks are being disinfected using a combination of different substances like chlorine and bleaching chemicals like jik. The disinfection of the trucks is one of the new measures that the health ministry has put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 through truck drivers.
This comes after the country has reported 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among truck drivers entering the country to deliver cargo. The drivers are coming from neighboring countries that are reporting high cases of COVID-19.
As of today, Uganda has 79 confirmed cases of COVID-19. In neighboring countries; Tanzania has confirmed 299, while Kenya’s cases stands at 355. Rwanda has 191 confirmed cases.
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Other measures decided upon by the COVID-19 taskforce include; the adoption of the relay system by truck drivers and the mandatory use of personal protective equipment like masks by all drivers.
Also, domestic trucks should have only two people. In addition to this, freight forwarders will have to pay for testing kits to be used to test drivers.
