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Africa News for Wednesday December 16, 2020
Source: teastafrican.co.ke
2020-12-16
Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) staff examine passengers at a bus station in Kigali, | AFP
Rwanda has reinstated strict Covid-19 preventive measures ahead of the holiday season, nine months after the country’s first case of Covid-19 was reported.
As of Tuesday, all social and public gatherings are prohibited, including weddings, and the curfew will now start at 9 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. The curfew ends at 4 a.m. as before.
Starting December 22, the hours will be further adjusted and the curfew will run from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
The announcements were made after a cabinet meeting held Monday, chaired by President Paul Kagame.
Gyms and swimming pools, which had been authorized to reopen last month, were ordered to close again, except for hotels.
Churches are allowed to hold the service once a week with 50 percent of the congregation.
The matches and training camps of the first national soccer division have been suspended, with the exception of the competitions of national soccer teams and the clubs that participate in international competitions.
Meetings, conferences and workplaces must not exceed 30 percent of the people housed and public transportation will operate at 50 percent of capacity.
On Monday, Rwanda recorded 131 new coronavirus infections, which is the highest daily total on record since August.
In the last two weeks, the country has registered a total of 814 infections and seven deaths.
As of Tuesday, Rwanda had recorded a total of 6,747 coronavirus cases, 5,996 recoveries and 56 deaths.
Health professionals and the national police have attributed the increase to public ignorance of the Covid-19 precautionary measures.
“We all want to receive the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible, but we know the operational and logistical limitations that we must manage and address. Expect initial doses of the vaccine between March and June 2021, ”Rwanda’s Health Minister Dr. Daniel Ngamije said in a tweet on Tuesday.
The Minister of State in charge of primary health care, Dr. Tharcisse Mpunga, said that gatherings, especially weddings, are among the catalysts for the spread of Covid-19 infections.
Musanze, who is one of the foci of infection after Kigali and Rubavu, was subjected to a curfew from 7 pm to 4 am. Meetings and conferences are prohibited in Musanze.
Rwanda is now offering Covid-19 testing upon arrival at Kigali International Airport.
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