Rwanda has announced that it will allow some people to return to work from May 4, easing a nationwide lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus in an effort to revive the economy.
According to a statement by Prime minister Édouard Ngirente after a consultative meeting chaired by the President Paul Kagame, public and private businesses will resume with essential staff while other employees will continue working from home.
The services that are set to resume include
- public and private businesses will resume with essential staff while other employees will continue working from home.
- Markets will open for essential vendors not exceeding 50% of registered traders
- Manufacturing and construction industries will open with essential workers
- Hotels and restaurants will operate but close by 7 PM
- Individual sporting activities in open spaces is permitted, however sports facilities will remain closed
- Public and private transport will resume within the same province
- Bus operators will ensure that passengers maintain social distance and only allow passengers with masks to board
- Funeral gatherings shall not exceed 30 persons
Services to remain closed
- Schools will remain closed until September 2020
- Places of worship will remain closed
- Gym and recreational places will remain closed
- All bars will remain closed
- Public and private transport between different provinces and city of Kigali is not permitted
- Motorcycles and bikes are not allowed to carry passengers but may be allowed to carry goods and continue to offer delivery services
- Borders will remain closed, except for goods and cargo, as well as returning Rwandan citizens and legal residents, who will be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine
- Meeting in public spaces and gatherings remain prohibited
The partial steps were announced after the country’s central bank said the global economic disruptions caused by the pandemic are weighing on Rwanda’s economy. The government had projected economic growth for 2020 at 3.5% compared with an annual average of 8%. With the number of registered COVID-19 cases at 243, the government said the newly announced measures will be reviewed after 15 days.
The new guidelines restrict funeral gatherings to not more than 30 people, while public and private transport between different provinces and the city of Kigali is not permitted.
The statement stressed that wearing face masks in public is mandatory at all times and mass screening and testing for COVID-19 will continue nationwide.
