President Museveni has lifted restrictions on places of worship, weddings, and funerals but insisted strict adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures must be adhered to.
The places of worship can now open as long they limit the number of worshippers at any time to not more than 200 provided the place of worship can ensure physical distancing of 2 meters on either side and adequate aeration.
”There must be strict adherence to all SOPs at all times i.e. hand washing/ use of alcohol based sanitizer, temperature monitoring, and consistent wearing of face masks by all congregants including the choir and preachers,” said Museveni during a national address this Wednesday night.
The announcement is a huge relief for religious institutions in the country which have for long called for easing restrictions on places of worship.
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However, no congregation for worship will be allowed after curfew hours
“The 200-persons-limit, physical distancing and all other SOPs should be respected even during special occasions e.g. weddings, funeral services, confirmation etc,” said Museveni.
He asked religious leaders to partner with the Government to communicate and mobilize the population for vaccination and other control measures.
Museveni also increased the number of persons attending weddings, burials and other social events to 200 under strict observance of SOPs.
The daily average number of confirmed cases over the last one month has declined and stabilized at 124 cases countrywide, from an average of 1,445 cases at the peak of the second wave in June 2021.
Similarly, the daily average number of deaths has declined to 6 from 57 deaths at the height of the peak of the second wave.
As of 22 September 2021, the country has registered 122,502 confirmed cases and 3,135 deaths.
Additionally, the current admissions stand at 340 in both public and private facilities (272 in public, 66 in prisons and only 2 in the private facilities), of whom 144 (38%) are in the severe and critical category.
