Rwanda cuts quarantine time for travellers from 3 days to 24 hours
Friday January 07 2022
Rwanda on January 7, 2022 reduced quarantine time for travellers from three days to 24 hours following a review of Covid measures. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
Rwanda Friday reduced quarantine time for travellers from three days to 24 hours following a review of Covid measures.
Passengers were previously required to take a PCR test 72 hours before travelling to Rwanda, take another test on arrival, quarantine for three days and take a PCR test on the third day after arriving, at their own cost.
Tourists visiting national parks are exempted from the quarantine but are required to take rapid tests every day of their visit.
According to the announcement by the Prime Minister Edouard Ngirenge, the guidelines were updated to curb the continued increase of Covid-19 cases.
The announcement emphasised that clients in bars, restaurants, public transportation like buses and taxi motorcycles, must be fully vaccinated.
“All citizens and Rwandan residents are urged to get fully vaccinated and when eligible, get a booster shot. Vaccination increases protection against infection, serious illness and hospitalisation caused by Covid-19. The public is urged to test frequently and work remotely,” the notice said.
The 10pm-4am curfew has been maintained.
Weddings, meetings and churches are allowed with a limited number of attendants.
Vaccine mandates now apply to all public services.
Rwanda has also listed penalties for those violating Covid rules. They include paying fines and closure of businesses for a maximum of three months.
The Ministry of Health may also temporarily close down public or private premises if clusters of infections are identified.
Rwanda has seen a spike in Covid-19 infections since early December.
Major events have been postponed as a result, including the National Dialogue in December and the national football championship.
The spike in infections has been attributed to the new fast-spreading variant Omicron and violation of Covid-19 rules, especially during the festive season.
The numbers of fatalities and critical cases, however, remained lower compared to previous waves of infections.
Health officials attribute this to mass vaccination campaigns that have reached over 7.7 million Rwandans.
In the last seven days, 7,784 positive cases from 124,529 tests conducted. 62 were people admitted to hospital, and 18 died.
Three patients are currently in critical condition, while the country’s infection rate stands at 6 percent.