Uganda to reopen schools, economy in January 2022, Museveni says

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni during his state of the nation address on October 28, 2021. [Courtesy]

President Yoweri Museveni has announced that schools in Uganda will reopen in January 2022, twenty months after they were closed due to the outbreak of Covid-19.

In a televised address on Thursday, October 28, Museveni said the general economy will also be opened at the start of the year. 

Museveni projects that 12 million citizens would receive the Covid-19 jab by end of December 2021.

He urged the citizens to observe Covid-19 safety measures to avert a surge in infections.

The Head of State dismissed reports that Uganda had rejected Covid-19 vaccination programmes, saying: “I don’t believe that Ugandans are refusing to get vaccinated; they are just not told [about existence or benefits of the vaccines]. I now want to inform you that vaccines are available at the health centres and schools.”

Museveni said the Covid-19 vaccination campaign would prioritise frontline healthcare workers.

“Even if you don’t come out for vaccination, we will open the schools and the economy and if anything goes wrong, the moral responsibility is yours,” said the President.

Uganda has so far recorded 125, 920 Covid-19 cases with 3, 209 deaths and 96,597 recoveries.