Because of the new Delta (Indian) variant of COVID-19, the government has issued a 42 day temporary closure of schools and businesses. In late April, Uganda detected the first case of the Delta variant of COVID-19. During the month of May, there was a surge in COVID-19 cases in Uganda prompting the government to issue a new temporary 42 day lockdown to reduce the spread. As a result, our schools were also forced to dismiss all of our students to go back to their homes before the roads were closed and travel was restricted within the country.
At this time, the only encouraging trend we are seeing is new daily cases have decreased from over 1450 per day in mid-June down to around 850 per day by the end of June. We are hoping and praying this downward trend continues.
Students pack and prepare to leave Toggo High on June 7, 2021.
This comes right after most of our grade levels were successfully reopened after being shut down since March, 2020. Since this new lockdown mandate, the schools have been quickly working to re-instate the e-class program it started during early 2020 to help keep students focused on their studies from home.
Having to go back into lockdown for Ugandans is very hard. Most workers cannot work from home like many Americans are able to do, so earning money to provide food for their families is very challenging. Government regulations during lockdown are very strict so anyone caught breaking the rules can be arrested and thrown in prison.