Museveni: Pregnant Mothers Can be Driven to Hospitals in Private Vehicles

President Museveni has given expectant mothers a leeway to move without an emergency letter from their respective Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) during the COVID-19 lockdown.

On March 25, Museveni shut down all public transport in an effort to contain the spread of COVID – 19 pandemic.

Five days later, Museveni added more restrictions and banned movement of all private cars except those providing essential services such as doctors, bankers, media, etc and were instructed to get movement permits/ stickers from the Ministry of Works and Transport.

All people with emergencies were instructed to get emergency movement letters from their respective RCCs/ RDCs.

However, after getting information about the cries of pregnant women from his senior press secretary Don Wanyama on Sunday, Museveni cleared pregnant women to use any means of transport available to visit medical facilities.

“An expectant mother is obvious. It doesn’t need a blood test, it doesn’t need anything. You can see that she is pregnant. I think for pregnant women it’s clear because a pregnant woman is visible. Try to get the RDC and if you don’t get him, you can use the means which is there,” he said.

Stickers

He, however, issued a strong warning to the persons who have forged movement stickers to facilitate their travel that their vehicles will be confiscated.

“I hear there were people who were bribing and getting stickers wrongly. Those vehicles will be confiscated and legally we shall see what to do about them because you are trying to kill Ugandans by not cooperating with the health measures,” he said.

Trucks

Museveni on the other hand rejected the idea that truck drivers should be held at the border points until their test results get back from Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI).

Every truck driver and crew onboard always have their COVID 19 tests taken at the border points, continue with their travel and have their results sent to them.

There was an idea that they (truck drivers and crews onboard) should be held at the border until their test results are returned from UVRI.

This is after two truck drivers, one Kenya and another Tanzanian tested positive for COVID 19 in Uganda.

The Kenyan was tracked by security and surveillance teams and intercepted at Kamdini heading to Gulu while a Tanzanian who tested positive for COVID 19 on Friday was on Sunday intercepted in Kiryandongo district and repatriated to Tanzania.

Museveni said holding them at the border for more than 24 hours waiting for their test results will cripple the economy.

“If you say they stay there (at the border), that will interfere with the business. We want the economy to continue because if the economy collapses, you have a lot of problems. Where will you have the money to solve things, to even support health so that the economy should move. So, move but move without the disease spreading. Instead of saying you stay here until the results come back, let him go because you know where he is,” said Museveni.

He added: “Let the man move and if we find a problem about him we shall call him. We know his contact we know his identity.”