A cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame on Wednesday 15th July, 2020 authorized the reopening of worship places in Rwanda.
According to a statement released by the Office of the Prime Minister, the cabinet meeting agreed to re-open Churches and Mosques but under guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The meeting which was held at Village Urugwiro however maintained the 9PM – 5AM night curfew, but also passed resolutions of the previous meeting held on June 30th.
In a move to ease restrictions due to covid-19 pamdemic, cabinet moved that places of worship in Rwanda will open upon approval by local authorities.
According to the statement, the ministry of Local Government in Rwanda will issue detailed guidelines on the re-opening of worship places.
Other services that have been allowed to resume operations or continue to run include private businesses which will continue to employ essential staff while other staff work from home.
Domestic and international tourism, hotels and non-contact outdoor sports activities will continue to operate under standard guidelines. However, gyms remain closed.
The same cabinet meeting maintained a ban on movement of people to and from Rusizi District with only goods and cargo allowed to move in and out of the district. These measures, including the night curfew, will be reviewed within 15 days upon a health assessment.
With 1,435 positive cases registered already, Rwandan authorities have previously moved to lift the lockdown imposed on the country in March, amidst abrupt surges in positive cases.
On June 26, following an analysis carried out by the Health Ministry on COVID-19, Rwanda re-imposed a 15-day lockdown in six villages of the capital Kigali, as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus with majority of its hot-spots reported in the capital.
