Uganda clamps down on revelers breaking the Covid regulations

Police officers in Kampala detained several people who had gathered at a bar in violation of a nightly coronavirus curfew on Sunday.

About a week ago, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni had ordered the closure of schools and the suspension of non-essential travel between districts in an attempt to stem out a worrying trend in the rise in Covid-19 cases in the East African country in recent weeks.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said the suspects were found drinking at the establishment at 10 p.m., three hours after the beginning of the curfew.

"The president gave a directive that all businesses by 7 (p.m.) should be closed and this by 10 (p.m.) was open and likewise we shall be having statements from the owners of the premise(s) to understand why they were open by that time and the fact that some of the suspects were found drinking and during the operation we saw a couple of them run away, flee the scene" said Luke Owoyesigyire, police spokesperson.

The ongoing crackdown comes as Uganda battles a new uptick in coronavirus cases.

Recently, the country has reported over 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day, which are among the nation's highest figures over the pandemic.