Doctors are calling upon the government to re-institute another national lockdown as a means to curb the spread of COVID-19 over Christmas holidays.
According to doctors under the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), cases of COVID-19 are set to increase due to the Christmas holiday and ongoing political campaigns, they now want the government to institute a lockdown a few days to Christmas and re-open next year.
The doctors’ plea is similar to that made by the ministry of health and some politicians last week, Dr. Frank Assimwe, a surgeon and also the chairperson in charge of welfare at UMA, says that a lockdown needs to be instituted to stop the spread of COVID-19.
He says if nothing is done, the country is going to experience a spike in COVID-19 cases that will stress an already stressed health system.
Assimwe says the lockdown will act as a circuit breaker that will cut the spread of the disease. He says it will enable the government to plan better for the increased number of cases that will be reported in January 2021.
Dr. Richard Idro, the president of the UMA, says the country is overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases at the moment and may not be able to handle any big surges in cases, He therefore says protecting the lives of people needs to become a personal initiative.
Dr Monica Musenero, an epidemiologist and also a senior presidential advisor on epidemics, says that travel during christmas will transport the virus from urban centres to villages where the number of infections has been next to non-existent.
Instead of travelling, the doctors say that people in urban areas should look for alternative means to celebrate the say and should resort to sending money to loved ones.
Foreign Countries like the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany and others instituted second lockdowns when Covid cases began to increase and have partially lifted the lockdown for five days during the festive season as well as encouraging Families to celebrate in smaller numbers. ENDS
