In a bid to implement the government decision of having all cargo trucks disinfected and their drivers tested for corona virus at border points, the Red Cross Society (RCS) has started on disinfecting all trucks on the border points.
The URC disinfection team is deployed on Malaba,Bunangana, Mutukula, Tororo/ Elegu among other borders to disinfect trucks before entering the country.
Its recalled that the government of Uganda recently proposed rules for truck drivers to adhere tobefore entering the country.
The proposal would see Ugandan drivers deliver the cargo to its final destination within the country or hand it over to another driver in case the is still on transit.
The decision was reached at following a spike in the number of foreign truck drivers testing positive for COVID-19 which according to the Ugandan government risks the lives of the people living at the borders and within the country.
Thisproposal was outrightly rejected by Kenyan Transporters Association claiming of in safety and insecurity of their goods. These opted for a mandatory testing of all the truck drivers which government agreed to.
Apparently, Ministry of Health is testing all truck drivers at border points before entering in Uganda. Whoever tests negative is allowed to proceed and those who test positive are either put under mandatory isolation as required by the World Health Organization or deported to their countries.
The deployment of Uganda Red Cross Society team to disinfect cargo trucks is more less an implementation of the government government measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
