NEWS EDITOR
A PREGNANT mother from Luuka district in Busoga has lost her life after failing to access emergency transport to the hospital.
According to sources, bodabodas, the would be urgent transport to the Hospital refused to take her in respect to the presidential tough directives in the fight against the deadly Covid-19.
Dr. Diana Atwine, the Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary on her twitter page has written that, “No one will be stopped if they are taking mothers to hospital. We shall issue a statement to clarify this.”
Luuka district RDC Pamela Watuwa confirmed this and said, it’s sad because no one deserves to die in this situation.
She said leaders would have worked out a way to see that this lady reaches a nearby health facility whether on bodaboda or any other means.
On the day Museveni suspended public transport he said, “The remaining danger points are two or three. Danger point number one is still public transport. People moving in shared vehicles, even when a minibus, taxi, bus or boda boda carries less people, these are still close enough for the virus to be spread.”
“The movement of people from one end of the country to another enables the easy spread of the deadly covid-19. The person who went to Kisumu and came back to Iganga (who allegedly infected the 8 month old baby) did not walk on foot. He travelled by a fast means of transport.” Stated the president directing, “Therefore, the government has decided to suspend for 14 days all public transport and this means, all taxis, coasters, minibuses, all buses, all passenger trains, all tukutukus (the tri-cycles) and all the bodabodas. All these have been suspended.”
The President, in his address yesterday night, re-echoed the same directive.
In fact, LDUs have been filmed beating passengers and cyclists on bodabodas in execution of the Presidential directive.
Bodabodas were only permitted to carry goods and foodstuffs not passengers.
Luuka pregnant woman must have been affected by this ban!
In banning private cars yesterday, Museveni said, in an emergency like taking a patient to the Hospital, it is only the RDC who can give you permission to temporarily use your car.
The President didn’t talk about bodabodas.
However, on receiving such sad news in her district, RDC Pamela Watuwa who formerly worked with Kabaka’s CBS radio station said, “We are working out a method of identifying bodabodas at every village to help us. Government vehicles are also available to transport people to health facilities.”
Giving out her phone contacts, RDC Pamela said her office is open to every one.
