Uganda tightens lockdown measures as virus cases surge

KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda is tightening its lockdown measures to try and stem a surge in Coronavirus infections in the East African country that is seeing an array of variants.

The measures announced late Friday by President Yoweri Museveni include a ban on private and public transportation within and across districts, including in the capital Kampala. Only vehicles carrying cargo and those transporting the sick or essential workers are permitted to operate on the roads, Museveni said in a televised speech.

The normally crowded shops in downtown Kampala, where thousands of the urban poor operate, have also been ordered shut. An ongoing nighttime curfew will stay in place.

The new measures will last 42 days.