News of Children killed in fires blacks out excitement as schools reopen, Rwandans flee vaccination, Uganda to conduct door-to-door immunisation

News of two school fires in which five children were killed and several injured, has marred the first week of school reopening in Uganda. After 22 months of a total shut down, parents were last week excited to return their children to schools amidst uncertainty and rising numbers of Covid-19 infections. The reopening received worldwide coverage, as Uganda has had the longest shut down of schools across the globe. However, the excitement was dampened Friday morning with news that a fire outbreak at New Crest Junior at Kibedi Day and Boarding Primary School in Kawempe Division Kampala City, where four children were confirmed dead.

Police stated that the fire started at around 3am today from one of the female pupils’ dormitories. Four girls all in Primary One died and three are still nursing serious injuries.

Miles away in Kyotera district, also in Central region, a pupil died after a dormitory at St John’s primary school caught fire at around 4:30 am Saturday. The pupil has been identified as Savio Kasozi, who was in primary four.

Meanwhile Uganda’s Ministry of Health has said it is set to immunise over 8 million children below the age of five against Polio. The exercise will be conducted door-to-door countrywide from January 14th to 16th. About 8.8 million children under five will be vaccinated with novel oral polio vaccines (nOPV2). Uganda last year announced that there was a polio outbreak in the country. The health ministry warned at the time that it was the rare wild polio virus type 2, whose vaccine was withdrawn from the country’s routine immunization exercises in 2016. The virus type, according to the ministry, is the most virulent of the three types, 1, 2, and 3. The resurgence was attributed to the reduced routine immunization in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, a group of about 100 Rwandans arrived last week claiming to be fleeing the Covid-19 vaccination, which is mandatory in their country. Reports indicated that the fleeing Rwandan came in small groups by canoe to the south of the island of Idjwi, located on Lake Kivu, which borders Rwanda and the DRC. Authorities say they will profile them and determine the reasons for their arrival.

“101 of these people were counted on Tuesday by the chiefdom (administrative entity) of Ntambuka,” said Idée Bakalu, honorary president of the mutuality of Idjwi nationals living in Bukavu, capital of the Congolese province of South Kivu is quoted as telling media. Esther Muratwa, president of the civil society of Idjwi, put their number at 123.

According to Dunia Muhigirwa, a teacher in Idjwi, these Rwandans, including women and children, say they are “fleeing the vaccine” against Covid-19. They are being identified in the villages of Lemera and Nyereji where, according to the teacher, “the majority are living for the moment with host families”.

In Rwanda, vaccination against Covid-19 is compulsory on public transport, in bars and restaurants, and at conferences and meetings.

Rwandan authorities on Friday told public sector workers to get vaccinated against Covid or resign, further tightening the strict pandemic measures which have seen people flee the country.

“Rights of people have limits,” said local government minister Jean Marie Gatabazi. “We have given them (public servants) time to think. Those who refused to be vaccinated categorically they resign from their jobs”, he added.