As Rwandans enter the festive season, the government has announced additional measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, spurred by the recent health assessment conducted nationwide. The new guidelines that will be reviewed after two weeks are marked with stringent protocols against the highly contagious respiratory disease. They include mandatory Covid-19 health certificates for people to access some public places and sanctions for people who fault guidelines. Here are five things to know: 1. Parties and celebrations are prohibited According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office on December 19, parties, wedding receptions and any other related forms of celebrations are prohibited. The statement added that traditional, civil and religious wedding ceremonies should not exceed 40 persons in Kigali and 75 in other provinces while those conducted in homes won’t exceed 20 people under the supervision of local authorities. Event organisers, the communique said, are liable to being penalised once the measures are not implemented efficiently. 2. Public transport Public buses will operate at full capacity with seated passengers only, while all windows must be open for proper ventilation, but travellers to and from Kigali must present vaccination certificates, as per the new guidelines. 3. Public places to decrease work occupancy All bars in the city of Kigali will close at 8 pm while all clients are required to be fully vaccinated. Places of worship will also operate at 30 and 50 per cent capacity in the city of Kigali and other provinces respectively. 4. Business owners urged to vaccinate employees All business operators have been urged to vaccinate their employees, with a note that the Ministry of Health is liable to close any businesses with clusters of people infected with Covid-19. 5. Mandatory vaccination Particularly in the City of Kigali, attendants of public gatherings have been urged to fully vaccinate. For attendants of civil, religious and traditional weddings, all attendants should be fully vaccinated and test negative and this measure will be implemented nationwide. Believers in the city of Kigali and secondary cities must also attend the religious services if they are fully vaccinated, same as those traveling to and from the city of Kigali. The new measures will last for three weeks, upon a health assessment, read a statement from the Prime Minister’s office.
