I have heard Dr Atek, the Covid Incident Manager, and the Minister, Dr Aceng, talking of now doubling our quarantine time with the reason that standards were not followed!
I really don’t know why the ministry is now intent on showing that it’s working by loading all its own shortcomings on us! We are being treated like our wellbeing doesn’t matter at all in this, and that we can be repeatedly abused because no one will care about our plight as everyone is busy looking for survival and scapegoats to eat along the way.
The three days at Entebbe Inn were wasted at our risk because of MoH’s negligence and lack of proper preparation. It is because of our voices that the mess came to light to the benefit of the entire country (and maybe for which we are paying). I wouldn’t count the three days I spent there as quarantine days. In any case we are only one day short of making up for them, which is when our Covid-19 test results return anyway! I’m on the 16th day now!
But from when we were brought to Arch Apartments, we have been restricted to our rooms, only walking out once to stretch legs individually – not in groups. There are over four military police officers here that strictly watch all that goes on. It’s been very difficult, but we’ve tried to abide and keep to our rooms. How can someone just come up from the AC of their office to say that we are not following quarantine standards and that we are going to start afresh!!!! Is this still about quarantining or torturing sacrificial lambs! This is gross abuse of our principled decision not to bribe to escape from quarantine like others did, and it is an incentive for people to escape from this violence meted out in the name of fighting Covid.
Other ‘high ones’ were given an opportunity to quarantine in their special places of choice where they cannot be arbitrarily accused of violating standards and are promptly issued certificates of quarantine completion on the 14th day, while we the wretched dispensable filth of no high connection are kept in here for as long we can serve the purpose of demonstrating in agony that government is working hard! I now suspect that this could be part of a scheme to justify their obscene scandalous budgets, feasting in a cemetery!
We were brought in here at different times. So whenever someone secluded in their rooms here will finally develop symptoms and test positive then you will keep doubling our prison sentence to pay for their being sick!!! Why then didn’t you put each person in their own hotel so that you don’t victimise everyone whenever one tests positive! Because being in our rooms is no longer enough for you! How cynical a quarantine guise! By criminalising quarantine plus loading stigma and guilt upon suspected victims, government is overzealously sabotaging the fight against the disease. Who will allow to be voluntarily quarantined or report sickness when this torture is the expected treatment!!
We allowed to be quarantined in good faith, which shouldn’t be abused by turning us into zoo creatures. It was later suggested that, because there could be asymptomatic cases, a test be done at the end. The test has been done. Then now you are creating other reasons for doubling the quarantine in spite of individual results! If there have been abuses in some centers, let it be a case by case treatment – not that every center will endlessness pay for each center’s violations. We can fight Covid without becoming inhuman and unnecessarily making others carry all the burden of our panic.
Sorry, I had to use this tone because I’ve honestly hard enough of this abuse!
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