Outside cleric barred from accessing prisons due to COVID-19

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |Clerics from outside will not be allowed inside Uganda Prison facilities to celebrate mass with inmates this Christmas because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Uganda Prison Spokesperson,  Frank Baine has revealed.

According to Baine, allowing religious gatherings will lead to people converging and increase the chances of spreading the virus. 

He says the clerics in prison facilities will be the ones to handle mass on Christmas since prisons are still effectively out of bounds to everyone including visitors.

There are currently, 60771 inmates spread in various prison facilities nationwide. 50 new COVID-19 cases in the prisons are being handled at Jinja and Mbarara women’s hospital.  

According to Baine, two of cases are active and can spread the virus. He says seventeen are recovering while 931 of the 948 cases have fully recovered.   

According to Baine, unlike the past where the inmates would slaughter animals in groups, this time around it will not happen. 

He says they are devising means of how to distribute meat to the staff and inmates without exposing them to COVID-19 infection. 

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