Buvuma, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The new ferry at Buvuma plying between Kiyindi and Kirongo has reduced the number of passengers after two travelers testing positive to Covid-19 disease.
The ferry was designed to carry 300 passengers on its upper and lower sections plus 12 small vehicles each per trip. Since it was commissioned in July this year, and has been taking about 200 passengers at a time in order to observe social distancing.
The District Health Officer-DHO Dr. Barker Kanyike instructed the ferry management to reduce the numbers of passengers from 200 to 80after registering two cases on the ferry last week. The ferry makes two trips from Kiyindi to Kirongo on a daily basis.
The district has now reached 14 cases of covid -19, 11 of them discharged, one still receiving treatment at her home at Nkata island and the two from Lubya and Nkata islands who are still missing.
“Of the four recent cases Buvuma has registered, two of the persons from whom samples were taken on the ferry unfortunately people gave us wrong contacts and locations of their destinations,” Dr Kanyike said. “So it became difficult for our surveillance team to trace them. We cannot risk lives of more people travelling on it.” Dr Kanyike says.
The Buvuma Acting Residents District Commissioner-RDC Juma Kigongo says the intelligence team is tracing the patients for proper treatment but afterwards shall charge them with negligence and intended attempt to spread the disease.
The UNRA Public and Media Relations Manager Allan Ssempebwa reveals instructing all their ferry management to work together with the district Covid-19 task forces to control the spread of the disease.
Currently, at Buvuma every passenger registered to travel on the ferry presents a national identity card, personal and next of kin contacts before their temperature is measured using a temperature gun at the screening center and then they are given a ticket to board the ferry.
Although, residents are forced to wear masks on the ferry, URN has established laxity by majority of them in maintaining the mask wearing land where they even pack themselves on motorcycles.
Hakim Kazungu, a resident at Buvuma says the move to reduce on numbers is highly going to affect mainly the business people but it is necessary since residents at Buvuma are reluctant to observe even simple guidelines like washing hands and wearing masks.
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