The Rwandan capital Kigali and eight other districts across the country are sent back into a 10-day lockdown effective from 17th of July to curb surging coronavirus cases and deaths.
As of Wednesday, Rwanda had 14,553 active coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 17.5 percent, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic. Some 607 have succumbed to the virus while 74 people are in critical condition.
A communique issued on Wednesday evening stated that non-essential businesses, churches, schools, and universities shall all close. Employees will work from home, public transport shall not operate, and movements are prohibited except for essential reasons.
“Given the rapid spike in Covid-19 cases, the emergence of new variants, and increase of Covid-19-related deaths, the government has decided to further tighten the existing control measures,” the statement said.
A nationwide campaign aimed at vaccinating 60 percent of the population by next year has so far reached just 401,160 people, according to latest government statistics.
