Rwanda extends lockdown by five more days

A section of Kigali city.

Photo credit: File

What you need to know:

  • All public and social gatherings are still prohibited, while schools, churches, offices and all non-essential services are closed.

Rwanda has extended the lockdown in its capital Kigali and eight more districts for five more days.

The move, according to a communique issued by the Prime Minister's office, is to “consolidate the gains in decreasing the number of Covid-19 cases and related deaths”.

The current lockdown was imposed on July 17 and was expected to end on July 26.

All public and social gatherings are still prohibited, while schools, churches, offices and all non-essential services are closed.

This applies in Kigali, and the districts of Burera, Kamonyi, Musanze, Nyagatare, Rubavu, Rwamagana, Rutsiro and Gicumbi.

The rest of the country shall follow a 6pm-4am curfew.

Inter-district movements are not permitted, while weddings and public gatherings are only allowed with a limited number of attendants.

The country has seen a rise in the number of Covid-19 infections since June.

In the last seven days of the lockdown, 190,588 tests were taken, the overall incidence rate per 100,000 population is 78 and 367/100,000 in Kigali.

Ninety people have lost their lives to the virus, while 105 were discharged from hospitals and 252 admitted into hospitals. The positivity rate stands at 6.8 percent. 

The Ministry of Health said that 60 percent of infections are related to Delta variant, which is reported to be 55 percent more contagious than previous variants. The variant has led to more deaths and more severe symptoms. 

The government leveraged on the lockdown to conduct Covid-19 mass testing on 15 percent of adult residents in every cell in Kigali. Hundreds of thousands were tested, and those found positive for the coronavirus were put on treatment and health surveillance from their homes. 

The mass testing, according to Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Center Sabin Nsanzimana, will provide an evident status quo of the pandemic in Rwanda so far.

Dr Nsanzimana added that Rwanda expects to receive some Johnson & Johnson vaccines soon.

So far, 425,387 people have received both doses of Covid-19 vaccines while 2,205 await their second dose.