QUARANTINED PEOPLE IN UGANDA ASKED TO PAY 100 USD PER NIGHT

Passengers being screened at Entebbe International Airport and a cropped picture of a foreigner lying on the floor at Entebbe Central Inn hotel.

In a bid to restrain the spread of coronavirus, the Ugandan government has taken precautionary measures to ensure that there are no cases in the country.

According to the Health Ministry, Uganda has no confirmed cases of coronavirus since it tested 50 people of those moving in but all have tested negative.

On Wednesday, Yoweri Museveni the President of Uganda forced the closure of all schools, religious gatherings, public rallies, conferences with an effect of 20 March 2020.

And also with the travels, movements by Ugandans in and out of the country have been banned for a period of 32 days especially in countries that have been suffering from the pandemic.

These countries include Italy, France, South Korea, China, USA, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Norway Austria, Malaysia, Pakistan and San Marino.

According to Museveni, Ugandans and foreigners moving in will be put in mandatory quarantine in a designated place but they will pay the cost for their institutional quarantine food.

President Yoweri Museveni addressing the nation on Wednesday.

However, several people including Ugandans have complained as to why they are being charged for self-quarantine a sum of 100USD (Approximately 374,000) a night, for the next 14 days and yet it’s the government’s decision to be confined at Entebbe Central Inn, a hotel in Entebbe.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Diana Atwine appearing before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament said that the Ministry lacked a place to implement the quarantine, and therefore they talked to hotel owners to support the Ministry.

Secretary Ministry of Health, Diana Atwine appearing before the Public Accounts Committe of Parliament on Wednesday.

Due to the fear of the coronavirus, many hotels had refused to host people who had travelled into the country and it was only Entebbe Central Inn that allowed having people quarantined in their rooms with a charge of 100 US dollars per night.

This was after Isingiro South MP, Alex Byarugaba asked a question on why the Ministry cannot allow people to pick a hotel of their choice and that they can afford, saying 100 USD per night is too expensive.

President Museveni while addressing the nation said that if they want to avoid that inconvenience or cost, they can sit out the storm in the country of their temporary abode.

So far, the number of coronavirus cases have topped to 220,229 with 8, 8981 deaths globally.