Virus testing at Kenya Uganda border causes jams

Mandatory testing for the new coronavirus between the borders of Kenya and Uganda has created a traffic jam of trucks carrying goods into landlocked Uganda stretching more than 30 kilometres (18 miles).

Truck drivers say it is taking them four days to get through the border to get cleared bringing trade between the two nations to a snail's pace.

The measures were put into effect after several truck drivers tested positive for the new virus after crossing into Uganda, prompting the country to introduce mandatory mass testing of all drivers entering the country.

Truck drivers are complaining that the road has become a nightmare, with limited food and facilities to accommodate them and concerns of criminals trying to steal fuel and cargo during the night.

The situation on the border is expected to get worse following a decision on Tuesday by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni to issue stricter measures for truck drivers, which include banning them from staying in hotels and limiting them to one driver per truck in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus.

Uganda is a landlocked country and is a busy crossroad for cargo routes that extend further into Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Uganda's health ministry figures, the nation has registered 79 people infected with the new coronavirus - at least 16 of them are believed to have been truck drivers arriving from Kenya and Tanzania.