By John Bosco Tugume
Police in Masindi on Saturday morning dispersed traders and confiscated their merchandise in Kijuura weekly market for flouting the Covid-19 guidelines set by the Ministry of Health to stem down the spread of the virus.
The acting District Police Commander, Edina Nyinareza, says the operation followed a tip off from a concerned resident that hundreds of traders had flooded and displayed their merchandise in the market, attracting many buyers without observing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Nyinareza says given the big number of people in the market, social distance was not adhered to as required to stop the transmission of the deadly virus.
During the operation, police confiscated such merchandise as clothes and shoes among others that Ms Nyinareza said will be handed back to their owners at the police station.
She warned traders to stop violating the health guidelines set to slow down the spread of the virus adding that police will not hesitate to arrest them.
With guidance by the Ministry of Health officials, President Yoweri Museveni banned operations of weekly markets saying they are one of the conduits through which Covid-19 can be transmitted since they attract several people from various areas.
