“We should not rush to return to normalcy after lifting lockdown” – Experts warn on Coronavirus

Experts have warned against rushing to  return to normalcy after lifting of the Coronavirus lockdown.

President Museveni last week announced that government would slowly lift the two month lockdown that had been imposed on the country to help in the fight against Coronavirus.

Speaking during a webinar panel discussion of the science of Covid-19 on Saturday , Dr.Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health said Ugandans should not forget the dangers of the disease especially now that the country is easing lockdown measures.

“There is no need for us to rush to normalcy. We must adjust and continue adhering to the Covid-19 guidelines. The social distancing culture must remain,”Atwine said.

She noted that there is need to continue adhering to the various guidelines including washing of hands and wearing of masks put in place by the Ministry of Health in helping to prevent the spread of the virus.

According to Dr. Atwine, lifting of the lockdown would usher the country into the second phase of the fight against the pandemic that has left many countries devastated.

She said that as experts, they foresee as spike in the number of infections when restriction on movements and interactions is lifted.

“It is high time that we took the dangers of Covid-19 seriously. The public must remain vigilant and remove laxity because this increases the likelihood for infection among people.”

According to Prof. Pontiano Kaleebu, the Executive director of the Uganda Virus Research Institute, whereas the lockdown measures have been effective in stopping the spread of Covid-19 in the country, there need to be wary of the effects of the lifting of the lockdown.

“The lockdown measures have been effective. We need to work with all sectors and engage them on standard operating procedures as we ease the lockdown. It is very important that they are part of this conversation,” Kaleebu said.

Prof. Pauline Byakika, an epidemiologist from the  Makerere University School of Public Health noted that habits such as hugging and shaking hands were part of an old order and that Ugandans should avoid them as the lockdown is lifted.

However, Dr. Diana Atwine noted that they have developed a tracing app that can monitor the movement of truck drivers and other possible cases of contact.

“This helps us to cover a lot of ground for surveillance of communities,” she noted.

The webinar panel discussion of the science of Covid-19 was the first of a series supported by the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung foundation and organised by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance in partnership with the Ministry of Health to curb misinformation around the virus.

Health experts have been assembled as part of the program from across the board to interact with Ugandans answering different questions about Coronavirus and how to cope with anxiety and the science of the disease.

“The aim of the partnership is to allow citizens to interact with experts and get a better context of the pandemic and government’s efforts to protect them against Covid-19.In this, government targets to allow citizens access science-based information while enabling them to engage with experts,” said the Ministry of ICT Permanent Secretary, Vincent Bagiire.

Uganda's confirmed Coronavirus cases are 198 whereas 68 of these have fully recovered and returned home.