Benon Kato, the Chief Revenue Protection Officer Lwakhakha border under Uganda Revenue Authority told URN that they since the corona pandemic broke out in December last year they have only received jerycans and a basin for hand washing.
There are no visible signs of Corona Virus Screening at Lwakhakha border town in Namisindwa district. There are three entry points from Kenya.
Our reporter visited the border town on Tuesday and didn’t find any corona screening equipment. URN only saw hand washing facilities at the main crossing point. People crossing to either country where washing hands under the supervision of a UPDF officer.
A security officer told URN on condition of anonymity that there is no reporting system at the border even they detected a case. Residents of the border town have raised alarm over what they called negligence by the authorities to create awareness about the disease.
Benon Kato, the Chief Revenue Protection Officer Lwakhakha border under Uganda Revenue Authority told URN that they since the corona pandemic broke out in December last year they have only received jerycans and a basin for hand washing. He said they only have a few sanitizers and lack heat detectors and health officer.
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Kato says that although there are confirmed Corona cases in Kenya, business has remained normal at the border.
Luganda bite
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Debora Nabaya, a resident of Lwakhakha town who sells fresh food at the border, says she only got to know about the corona virus few days ago when radios were reporting about the cases in Kenya.
She says she hasn’t seen anything serious warning residents about the corona virus threat.
Lumasaba bite
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Moris Gibeti, a money changer says the concerned authorities haven’t taken the disease seriously that is why people are moving freely in and out of the country, which exposes the lives of Ugandans torisk.
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Simon Mabonga, another resident says the only sign of preparedness at the border is hand washing using water and soap. He however, expressed concern about the porous routes that people are using to enter the country.
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Kigai Moses Wamoto, the Namisindwa Resident District Commissioner, says the district is prepared to handle any case of Corona virus case. He explained that he convened a security meeting with security chiefs in the district to enforce hand washing.
Wamoto however, noted that the major challenge is the porous routes, which people use to enter the country.
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On the absence of screening, Kigai said they are expecting a team of medical officers from the Health Ministry to back up the security officers.
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Story by Ayubu Kirinya
