While hundreds of truckers have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks, the drivers say they are being stigmatized and treated like criminals, being detained by governments and slowing cargo traffic to a crawl
This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.Tanzanian truck driver Ally Akida Samwel fixes his mask to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a legal requirement for anyone in public in Kenya, as he prepares to enter on the Kenya side of the Namanga border crossing with Tanzania on Monday, June 1, 2020.They haul food, fuel and other essential supplies along sometimes dangerous roads during tough economic times.
Rajab and his load of liquefied gas spent three days at the Kenya-Tanzania border, where the line of trucks waiting to be cleared stretched into the distance and wound around the lush hills overlooking the crossing at Namanga. Some told The Associated Press they try to elude authorities or switch off their phones when they enter Uganda so they can’t be ordered to pull over. More than half of the country’s 507 coronavirus cases as of Wednesday have been confirmed among truckers.
Health authorities in East African countries don’t have enough tests for their population, so they focus instead on highly mobile truckers. That means countries like Kenya and Tanzania, which have responded differently to the pandemic, will continue their own restrictions. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said banning trucks is “suicidal” in a region where delivery by other means, including air and sea, is underdeveloped.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Africa's essential truckers say they face virus stigmaThey haul food, fuel and other essential supplies along sometimes dangerous roads during tough economic times. But Africa's long-distance truckers say they are increasingly being accused of carrying something else: the coronavirus.
Read more »
Bolsonaro threatens WHO exit as COVID-19 kills ‘a Brazilian per minute’President continues to argue for lifting lockdowns as Brazil’s coronavirus death toll surpasses Italy
Read more »
Coronavirus disrupts global fight to save endangered speciesThe coronavirus is now hampering critical work to protect threatened species and habitats worldwide.
Read more »