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Rwanda eases lock-down but schools closed until September

 

President Kagame chaired an Extraordinary Cabinet meeting to discuss the next steps in the fight against #COVID19.

Kigali, Rwanda | THE INDEPENDENT | Rwanda has announced the partial opening of its economy for some services to resume.

While hotels, public and private business will resume activities on May 4, churches , bars, gyms and recreational centers will remain closed. Schools will also remain closed until September 2020.

In a cabinet memo published on April 30, the eve of the expiry of total lockdown measures, Kigali says private, and public businesses can open but with essential staff while others work from home. Hotels and restaurants will operate up to 7 pm.

Markets will also open but only have 50 percent of the vendors. Private and public transport will resume within the same province but is banned when moving out to other provinces.

Also opened are bus services, but they will have to maintain social distancing and only allow people with masks onboard. Although funerals will continue, they will be restricted to only 30 people.

Motorcycles and bicycles will also not carry passengers but carry goods. Also, sports activities for individuals will be allowed although sports facilities like stadiums will remain closed. Borders are closed except for goods.

Rwanda’s partial opening is partly because countries around the world are accepting the bitter fact that it may take longer than expected to wipe out the virus or that they will have to devise means to work even when cases are being reported.

Rwanda announced 18 new cases on Thursday to bring the national tally to 243. The country says its biggest challenge remains the cross-border truck drivers.

Countries that have lifted some of their lockdown measures like Ghana and South Africa have seen a slight surge in positive cases, an indicator that as countries open up, they should brace for that scenario.

Coronavirus pandemic has battered economies of countries with millions of people losing jobs and a couple of companies expected to fold.

Uganda is expected to partially lift lockdown measures next week if majority of tests from the community continue to be negative

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URN

3 comments

  1. OK to lockdown the country up to September can’t stop the virus to spread. according to cases in Rwanda, the virus to be removed from people its very hard because many people has it at this moment. I think they delayed to put directives of lockdown. take example of Tanzania, will they regret because spread of virus? or Burundi will they regret? such leaders are very hard to understand their mission. in Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya for them they minds about elections but not about their voters. but if they die who will vote them?East African countries the leaders of region they’re not cooperating to fight against the virus. they should come out together and cooperate.

    • Let them become MPs
      And leave only President Museveni to lead them as one president
      Bse all have failed apart from Yoweri who is credited as usual in his high intillectual performance

  2. Uganda, under the wise leadership of President Museveni, and with our gallant Health workers, have done a commendable job in checking the spread of the Covid 19 virus in the Country. The timely locking down of the Country has been greatly helpful in prevention the spread and death from the diseases. Rwanda and Kenya have been helpful neighbors in the effort to check the spread of the virus infection in the Region, but Tanzanian President, regrettably, has been too slow to act and contributing to the increase in the rate of transmission of the virus in the Region, especially by exporting the virus via infected truck drivers.

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