KIU, Main Campus - In a period of one week, cargo drivers from the neighboring countries have tested positive for Coronavirus. Currently, more than 11 truck drivers from Kenya and Tanzania have tested positive, bringing the total number of cases to 79 by 27th April 2020.

Therefore, the government has decided that only a driver per cargo truck will be allowed into the country without a conductor or turn man in the meantime.

Robinah Nabbanja, the State Minister of Health in charge of General Duties, said the policy is already being implemented.

Companies have been asked to recruit Ugandan drivers within three weeks as the one driver policy is being implemented. These will proceed with the cargo from the border points into the country.

“They have to be given three weeks to recruit. We shall have one driver from Mombasa through to Uganda so that we avoid congestion at the border. If we have one driver, we can even have the capacity of making them wait because they are few," said the State Minister.

She also said the screening at the border points will continue and that all drivers will be tracked while in transit, and stopovers will be at gazetted places.

The Ministry of Health said that truck drivers exhibiting potential symptoms of the disease will be quarantined at the border points. They will be pre-examined from their countries, and examined and tested while in Uganda.

The Ministry also said that security personnel will be deployed at all border points to curb illegal entries.