The Rwandan government on Tuesday announced an extension of nationwide measures against COVID-19 until Sunday including a lockdown in the capital city Kigali reported CGTN Africa. A curfew along with other restrictions was announced to replace the lockdown for the next two weeks starting Feb. 8.
“To further contain the spread of the pandemic, the cabinet extended existing measures countrywide including the current lockdown in the City of Kigali from February 3rd through 7th,” the statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday read.
According to the statement, public offices will continue to remain closed, with employees asked to work from home except those who offer essential services. Meanwhile, private businesses are allowed to resume work with essential staff at not more than 30 percent capacity.
“Businesses resuming operations must close by 5:00 pm”, the statement reads in part.
All schools both private and public will continue to remain closed in Kigali, while movement from Kigali to other districts is also prohibited.
Rwandan Minister of Health Daniel Ngamije said the extension will help to consolidate gains brought by the lockdown.
Ngamije said health test results showed that the lockdown imposed on Kigali in the past two weeks slowed down the virus transmission. He added that before the lockdown, the number of coronavirus cases registered in Kigali was more than all cases in provinces combined, while the latest figures showed that the capital registered fewer cases compared to provinces.
The Rwandan minister said the number of recoveries surpassed new cases in the past three days, meaning the number of active cases is going down.
The government had imposed a lockdown in Kigali on Jan. 18 due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the city.
Starting from January 8, the cabinet resolved that among others curfew time is extended to 7:00 pm through 4:00 am from the previous 8:00 pm through 4:00 am.
