Quarantined passengers sneak out of hotel to shop, drink

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Passengers quarantined by health and security officials at Kirigime guest house in Kabale district over Covid-19 still are abusing the guidelines to directly contact members of the public.

The 94 were confined at Katuna border on March 22 while traveling in two Jaguar buses from Rwanda to Uganda. They were later isolated at Kirigime guest house where they are to be monitored by coronavirus surveillance teams in the area for at least 14 days.

However, our reporter has learnt that some of the passengers still sneak out of the guest house to Kabale town where they are seen shopping, using mobile money services and drinking alcohol.

One of the quarantined passengers who only identified himself as Hebert has told URN that security officers guarding the guest house secretly allow hawkers to gain access to the hotel and sell clothes to the quarantined passengers.

He adds that the passengers also share utensils during the time of meals and touch each other as opposed to the social distance that was advised as a preventive measure against coronavirus. He adds that they are rarely visited by health workers.

Kabale Resident District Commissioner Darius Nadinda says that he has received similar reports that hawkers gain access into the guest house and sell clothes to quarantined passengers.

Nandinda however says that he has already tasked the office of the Kabale District Police Commander and Kigezi Regional Police Commander to investigate the matter so that police officers involved in such anomalies are arrested and charged accordingly.

Kabale District Police Commander Brian Ampeire admits that the hawkers entered into the hotel and sold clothes to the quarantined passengers. He however says that the hawker gained access in collaboration with the hotel management without first consulting security.

Ampeire says that he has registered cases where some of the quarantined passengers demand to get out of the hotel to seek for ARV drugs and hair shaving. He however emphasizes that none of the passengers has ever moved out of the hotel because the main gates are always closed.

Acting Kabale District Health Officer Alfred Besigensi says that some of the utensils are shared by family members who stay in double rooms. He added that people have a right to talk to each other as long as they keep a required distance. He also says that none of the passengers at Kirigime guest house has shown any sign of COVID-19.

******

URN