Museveni to Address Nation on COVID19 Thursday Ahead of Anticipated Schools Reopening

President Yoweri Museveni will this Thursday address the country on the situation of COVID-19, according to his Senior Press Secretary Nabusayi Linda Wamboka.

She says the Head of State will use the address scheduled for 8pm to “provide an update to the Nation on the Covid-19 situation and any other related issues on Thursday October 28.”

The address which will be relayed live on the country’s major radio and television stations, comes at a time when the country is witnessing a lower test positivity rate compared to the past months.

The last seven days have witnessed a total of 525 new COVID19 cases, a figured way below many daily confirmed cases in the first and second waves of the virus in the country when some single days registered over 1500 new cases.

Latest figures from the Ministry of Health indicate that on October 23, the country confirmed 48 new cases, a test positivity rate of 1.1% bringing the cumulative cases to 125,758. The cumulative recoveries are 96,510 and active cases administered at health facilities are 254.

The President comes to address the country ahead of the anticipated reopening of post secondary institutions on November 1. It is likely that he will either give greenlight to such institutions to reopen as planned or issues fresh prerequisites for reopening.

During his last address on COVID19, President Museveni said country and educational institutional would reopen once 4.8 million priority populations received both jabs but on October 14, this changed when he made proclamations conditioning schools to reopen only after seven million Ugandans are inoculated.

Only a total of 2,854,082 COVID-19 doses have so far been administered across the country, according to the Ministry of Health. The figure includes individuals who have received single and both doses.

Security situation in the country

The President could as well use Thursday’s address to reemphasize his recent communication on Twitter on security following a bomb attack at an eating point in Komamboga on Saturday evening that led to loss of a life and injuring three. Militant group Islamic State has already claimed its responsibility.

The president who called for vigilance, asked the public not to be terrified by criminals’ isolated killings of the people of Uganda, saying security will defeat all the ‘parasite pigs’ behind the attack.