KAMPALA, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Following a presidential directive on June 18 that asked food market vendors to camp at their respective places of work amid a partial lockdown in the country, 50-year-old Ugandan female vendor Mayuna Namazzi has been staying at her stall in Kalerwe market in capital Kampala.

Namazzi, who lives in the city of Buwambo in Wakiso district, some 22 km away from the capital, said she had to stay at her workplace because she "could not manage to walk the distance from home and back."

"The night curfew is tight, and the enforcement officers are very strict. The only solution was for me to camp at my stall," she told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The mother of five said the nights have not been comfortable.

"Of course there is too much coldness, having been used to sleeping inside my bed. But I have no choice," she said.

Besides, with stagnant water nearby, there are many mosquitoes around, she said, adding, "Now that the government has come out to give us mosquito nets, that problem is solved."

Namazzi said her business has not been doing well. The number of customers has drastically declined, because some of them resorted to buying foodstuffs from nearby markets while others turned to home villages, she said.

"Hotel owners no longer come to buy food because they have no customers to eat meals. Most of our products are rotting since there is no one to buy them," Namazzi added.

Uganda is currently grappling with a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with daily new cases hitting around 1,000.

Figures from the Ministry of Health showed that as of Friday, the number of confirmed cases nationwide had reached 78,394.

The African country entered another partial lockdown on June 7, banning public gatherings, closing schools and churches, as well as stopping public transport for 42 days.

The Ministry of Health then launched a drive to distribute at least 5,000 mosquito nets to women who spend nights in food markets around the city center and suburbs.

Nalongo Tereza Namubiru, 70, also had no choice but to camp at the market, because she could not manage to walk the 4-km distance from home given her age.

"My children died and left me with eight small grandchildren. I have to work hard to get them what to eat," Namubiru added.

"Two of the grandchildren stay here in the market with me through the night. The others are in the house," she told Xinhua.

Like Namazzi, Namubiru also noticed that the customers are a mere trickle.

"I sell bananas, cassava and sweet potatoes. However, I hardly get customers because of the lockdown. People cannot find transport means to take food back to their homes," she said.

Although Namubiru praised government efforts to distribute mosquito nets to women spending nights in markets, she noted that the weather is still tough.

"At my age, I would be sleeping in the house. I might end up contracting other sicknesses because of the coldness," she said.

Still, Namubiru said she is hopeful that once everyone follows the restrictive measures, the pandemic will be defeated, and she will return to sleeping in her warm house.

For Jane Nasozi, 28, who operates a stall at Nakasero market in the capital, spending nights in the market is not new.

"Our suppliers usually bring agricultural products from villages at night. You have to be at the market to receive your share at that time," she told Xinhua.

The only difference for Nasozi is that fewer clients are now coming to buy her vegetables, since some hotels and schools are not operating.

"I also used to supply exporters, but since the lockdown started, they say they have suspended operations," Nasozi said.

The Ugandan government has announced that at least 500,000 families will receive COVID-19 relief cash through mobile money services.

For now, Nasozi is waiting for the cash relief promised by the government, since her daily income has dropped by more than 50 percent.

Besides, she said she worries about petty thieves who sneak into the city center at night and snatch women's bags. "We ask the police to deploy more men at our markets" to scare away the thieves. Enditem

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