Places of worship, religious wedding ceremonies as well as meetings and conferences in hotels are some of the services which are expected to resume as Rwanda continues to reopen the economy slowly, cautiously relaxing measures to contain New Coronavirus.
An extraordinary meeting of the cabinet chaired by President Paul Kagame on Tuesday reviewed the measures that have been in place since March this year to contain the spread of COVID-19 but warned that all reopening services must continue to follow health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Religious wedding ceremonies will resume but should not exceed 30 persons. The Ministry of Local Government will share detailed guidelines,” a cabinet statement said, adding that religious marriage ceremonies will also resume but will not exceed 30 persons as well.
Statement on Cabinet Resolutions of 16/06/2020 pic.twitter.com/YDlu8f0QZN
— Office of the PM | Rwanda (@PrimatureRwanda) June 16, 2020
Similarly, religious funeral activities will also reopen but will not exceed 30 people, as was already allowed for non-religious funeral activities.
The Cabinet also agreed that “places of worship will remain closed but in the meantime investment in COVID-19 precautionary and preventive measures is encouraged to allow readiness for reopening in 15 days upon an epidemiological assessment”.
The Inter-Religious Council of Rwanda issued a statement last week indicating the precautionary measures places of worship are looking to implement in line with COVID-19 prevention as they prepare to reopen.
Despite reopening tourism services under conditions, the country’s borders will remain closed except for cargo and goods and returning citizens who will continue to be subject to mandatory quarantine in line with existing health guidelines.
The districts of Rusizi and Rubavu in the western province will also remain closed to public transport, as it has been while schools remain closed until September.
Bars and gaming activities too, as well as mass gatherings in public spaces and homes, will remain closed.
Tourism will reopen with precautionary measures in what is likely to be a huge relief for the hard-hit tourism and hospitality sector, while hotels and conference halls will be able to host meetings and conferences as long as they observe social distancing and hygiene measures.
The country continues to register slightly increased numbers of COVID-19 cases, primarily attributed to the clusters of Rusizi and Rusumo as well as returning Rwandans whom the authorities are trying to contain as the government seeks to revive the economy
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