Introduction: Coronavirus disease is one of leading causes of deaths in recent times that has surpassed cardiovascular and other respiratory diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) setup Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that have been adopted by the different governments to curtail its spread. Nonetheless, information on the adherence to the SOPs amongst market vendors is not well elucidated. Moreover, markets are centers of convergence of many people which increases the risks of community transmission. Therefore, our study, investigated the extent of the adherence to the SOPs amongst market vendors in Sironko district. Methodology:  A quantitative study with cross-sectional design was adopted with a sample size of 221 randomly selected participants. Pretested structured questionnaires were used in the data collection. Categorical data was presented in tables and graphs with frequency (%). Pearson’s Chi-square (X2) was used to examine the statistical significance of our results.  The analysis was done by using the statistical software MedCalc version 20.0008. All the analyses were done at 95% level of significance and a p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 221 participants were involved: 126, 57 % female, 80, 36% aged between 31-40 years and 158, 72% married.  Fever, dry cough, chest pain, arches & pain loss of speech & movements were the most reported signs and symptoms of COVID-19 (p<0.0001). Most of the respondents were aware of the SOPs, hand washing soap and adequate water were readily available (p<0.0001). The commonly implemented SOP was wearing face masks (p<0.0001). The radio talk shows & broadcasting were the main sources of information(p<0.0001). The inadequate facemasks and limited finances constrained the Implementation of SOPs (p<0.0001).  Conclusion:  Most market vendors were aware of the COVID-19 SOPs and claimed they adhered. However, there is need to carry out a qualitative study to confirm the above claims.

Introduction: COVID-19 is one of the huge health burdens on the earth in the recent times. Massive campaigns on the adherence to standard operation procedures (SOPs) have been emphasized by the Government of Uganda and even the county has been put in two lockdowns to curtail the spread of this disease. Despite all these efforts, market vendors in Sironko district have seemingly not complied with these SOPs and this makes them potential hotspot for disease transmission, but no qualitative study has so far been documented. Therefore, the current study investigated the adherence of SOPs for COVID-19 amongst market vendors in this area. Methodology: A qualitative survey research design was adopted and a total of 53 participants, selected by both purposeful and simple random were involved. Interview, focus group discussion and observations techniques were used in data collection. The date was analyzed by the statistical software called MedCalc, version 20.0008 Results: The result showed that 65 % were females, most were aged between 29 females aged between 31-40 year took part in the study contributing 55% to the total subjects and married and of which 37 (70 %) were married. The market experienced challenges of inadequate & inappropriate facilities for SOPs but water was abundant (45, 85 %). All the SOPs for COVID-19 were flouted in these markets.  Conclusions: Market vendor rarely adhered to SOPs for COVID-19 and this makes them a potential source for transmission of COVID-19 to the local communities in the entire sub-regions. Therefore, there is need for department of production in Sironko district to re-enforce observance to SOPs guidelines for COVID-19 in this area.

Background: Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is one of the topmost global hindrances to human existence. Rural settings have been reported to be more vulnerable in some parts of the world. In Uganda, local council (LC) leaders in rural districts are among the immediate personnel mandated to support compliance with preventive guidelines, and to identify and report/deliver COVID-19 cases to health units. We examined the potential risk of COVID-19 transmission, knowledge levels, perceptions & opinions of LC leaders in selected districts in Eastern Uganda, to support the design of risk-based COVID-19 control measures in rural settings, to protect lives better.Methods: A convenience sample was taken from village council leaders in the selected districts. Pretested questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to assess the knowledge levels, perceptions, and opinions of respondents about COVID-19. An observational survey was also conducted to examine the barriers that might deter effective control of COVID-19, with reference to health guidelines set by the Ugandan government and the World Health Organization. Data was analyzed using HyperRESEARCH 2.8 software, and STATA version-15.0.Results and discussion: Eighty percent of local council leaders reported that they were formally engaged in the fight against COVID-19 in their communities, and the common means of engagement were; dissemination of COVID-19 information by word of mouth, regulation of public events, and monitoring of visitors that come from distant places. All clients reported having received some information about this pandemic, but there was generally low knowledge on some vital aspects: 70% of the respondents did not know the meaning of COVID-19; 100% were uninformed on these common symptoms; headache, sore throat, nausea, and loss of taste & smell; 10% did not know if willingness to conform to health guidelines may affect COVID-19 prevention, and they believed that domestic animals are viable vectors. Radio was the commonest source of COVID-19 information, but it was confounded by poor quality of radio-signals. Most respondents were of the view that in the communities they lead; inaccessibility to authentic health information, financial constraints, and belief that COVID-19 is a fallacy, were some of the leading obstacles to the fight against the pandemic. Low awareness and misconceptions on COVID-19 could be explained by; technological challenges, low literacy levels, and dissemination of wrong information about this pandemic. From the observational survey, the major factors which might intensify the risk of COVID-19 spread were: scarcity of requirements for hand hygiene, face protection, violation of health guidelines & directives, porous borders, terrain, and use of potentially polluted open water sources.Conclusion and recommendations: Rural communities in Eastern Uganda are vulnerable to the drastic spread of COVID-19, due to challenges related to: low awareness of COVID-19, reluctance in complying with preventive guidelines, finance, technology, terrain, porous borders, illiteracy and scarcity of protective wear and hygiene resources. Awareness creation, material aid, execution of preventive rules, and more research on COVID-19 are warranted.