Effective Monday, February 23, individual and non-contact outdoor sports activities are allowed to resume, the Ministry of Sports has announced. The green light comes as a result of the resolutions from cabinet meeting held on February 19 in reference to the growing recovery rate from the Covid-19 pandemic. All sports activities had been temporarily suspended in Kigali since January 19 after the government imposed a new lockdown in the capital to further curb spread of Covid-19. Individual physical exercises in and around homes were only allowed between 5 am and 9 am. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Sports on Sunday, February 21, the sports activities given a green light to resume include jogging, athletics, individual physical fitness outdoor exercises, hiking, cycling, golf, tennis, table-tennis, badminton, skate, archery and squash. Others include martial arts like karate, taekwondo, boxing, kung fu and fencing are allowed for only individual fitness exercises and practice, meaning that group practices and competitions are banned. Indoor sports facilities like gyms, recreational centres and swimming pools remain closed but guests accommodated in hotels with Covid-19 test results will be allowed to use gyms and swimming pools from respective hotels. Sports competitions remain banned until further notice. However, national teams and clubs preparing for participation at international competitions are allowed to train and prepare under special authorization that can be granted by the Ministry of Sports after submission and approval of proposed Covid-19 preventive guidelines to comply with during training. The return of sports activities is linked to the latest good performance in covid-19 recovery rate in the country since January 31.
