In a bid to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus, government announced that wearing of masks will be made mandatory in public spaces with heavy punishment to those who don’t adhere to the directive.
President Museveni said lifting of the lockdown will be pegged on wearing of the masks by members of the public.
“This mask must be worn all the time when you are in public. Whether you are sneezing, talking or coughing,” the president said on Monday.
"We are going to open up but opening up will require you to wear masks. These masks will be ready in two weeks. The opening up is all tied to the masks and the masks are ready in two weeks."
Distribution
Consequently, government will provide approved masks manufactured by Nytil for all Ugandans in the next two weeks.
Museveni said just like the mosquito nets, the masks will be distributed through the LC system.
“Since many people were expressing concern that they can’t afford to buy the masks and government wanted to ensure quality and people don’t borrow masks from one another, we have decided to provide the masks free of charge to all Ugandans of six years and above,”Museveni said.
According to Nytil, they manufacture between 300,000 and 500,000 masks per day and this means, it will take more than two weeks for the company to manufacture enough equipment for all Ugandans.
However, it awaits to be seen if the distribution of the face masks will be done and completed in the next two weeks as promised by the president throughout the country.
Many Ugandans will still be adamant to put on the masks despite each receiving at least a piece.
Hygiene
The president on Monday said the masks to be distributed by government will be reusable that a user can wash and iron it before wearing it again.
However, many may not be able to follow this procedure and may end up becoming sick from the gear that was meant to keep them safe.
Another problem will come from the masks being sold on the streets by vendors.
On many occasions, when someone comes to buy, they are left to pick from a pile of masks, one that they deem fit for them.
In this case, the buyer touches almost every mask and in case they are infected, all the masks may end infected by the virus.
Perhaps, many of the masks being sold on the roadside are not up to the required standard.
Enforcement
The army and police have for the past two weeks been mounting roadblocks on highways and major roads entering the city to enforce the presidential directive on facemasks in the public.
At the roadblocks, anyone not wearing a mask was asked to buy it or they are not allowed to proceed to the city centre.
The enforcement is expected to be scale up after the presidential directive.
“The Joint Security Task force would like to acknowledge the presidential directives on the mandatory use of face masks, as part of the Covid-19 lock-down exit strategy. We are happy that government has pledged the manufacture and distribution of free, standard masks that are reusable for all citizens,”Enanga said is a statement.
“All members of the Joint Security Task force have been tasked to enforce the directive and further educate the public on the health and safety risks, as well as the potential consequences of not wearing face masks while in the public.”
Other African countries
A number of other African countries have also made it compulsory for wearing of face masks.
These include; Morocco , Cameroon, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.
What experts say
The World Health Organisation recently said that healthy people do not necessarily need to wear face masks but rather those who are unwell, sneezing and coughing as well as those caring for the sick.
"Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water," WHO said.
Commenting about the same opposition strongman Dr.Kizza Besigye said it is illogical forcing government masks on everyone.
He insisted that those who can afford can use their worn masks and those who can’t, can wait for distribution from government.
“Forcing “government” masks on all is unacceptable and illegal. What would happen if my mask gets lost/stolen/spoilt soon after getting one from “government”. Would I apply for replacement and stay home till I am supplied with another? ”Besigye reasoned.