A cabinet meeting held on Monday, December 14, among others, resolved that curfew hours will begin at 9 p.m. through 4 a.m. in bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The curfew has in previous months started at 10 p.m. According to the communique from the Prime Minister’s Office, the directive will be effective this Tuesday all the way through Monday, December 21. From December 22, movements will be prohibited from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. until January 4. Going forward, as per the statement, all social gatherings including wedding ceremonies and celebrations of all kinds are prohibited in both public and private settings. The strict measures follow a recent spike in Covid-19 cases and fatalities country-wide, mainly reportedly caused by citizens’ negligence in implementing Covid-19 preventive measures. Also banned are gyms and swimming pools, apart from those in hotels which can be used by only tested hotel residents. Other major changes from the meeting include reducing the maximum number of people who attend meetings and conferences from 50 percent of the venue capacity to 30 percent. Additionally, all participants will be required to undergo Covid-19 testing. Meanwhile, the government resolved that offices of public and public institutions will operate from 30 percent of their capacity, urging other employees to work from home. Changes in public transportation, funerals attendance Two months after allowing buses to fill all their seats and at least 50 percent of the standing passengers, the government resolved that public buses will operate at 50 percent of their capacity with adherence to Covid-19 preventive measures. Meanwhile, besides transportation, funeral gatherings should not exceed 50 persons. Before the new guidelines, the maximum number of attendees was 75 persons. Attendance at a wake/vigil should not also exceed 15 persons at any one time. Specific measures in Musanze city The government resolved that the city of Musanze district, Northern Province, be given exclusive guidelines to observe, a decision that is normally taken when a specific area is found to be a hotspot of Covid-19. In the area, movements are prohibited from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Meetings and conferences were also suspended in Musanze city for the next three weeks. Meanwhile, places of worship shall operate once a week at no more than 30 percent of the maximum occupancy. Places of worship located elsewhere have a maximum number of attendees fitting in 50 percent of the venue’s capacity. Concerning funerals, in Musanze city, they should not exceed 30 persons attending them. According to the statement, all issued guidelines will be reviewed after three weeks upon a health assessment. Rwanda so far has 6,747 confirmed cases of Covid-19, of whom 5,996 have already recovered. The country’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 56.
