KIGALI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Rusizi district in western Rwanda from Thursday has been partly placed under a lockdown that will last for two weeks based on the assessment of COVID-19 outbreak in the region, Rwandan Ministry of Local Government said.
In the three sectors that make up Rusizi's Kamembe area, unnecessary movements and visits outside home are not permitted except for essential services such as healthcare, food shopping or banking, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry directed all employees, both public and private, to continue working from home, except those providing essential services.
Travel between Kamembe town and other areas is banned except travels for medical reasons or essential services, it said.
The government also banned operations of shops and markets, except those selling food, medicine, fuel, cleaning products and other essential services.
The statement also indicated that restaurants and hotels in Kamembe may use few workers and only sell takeaway.
Other areas in Rusizi will continue to operate normally but must adhere to guidelines from the ministry of health including social distancing, mandatory wearing of face masks in public and washing of hands frequently, according to the statement.
Relevant authorities will continue to monitor the situation to know if there are other areas in the district that need to be put under the lockdown, it said.
Thirteen COVID-19 cases were reported on Wednesday in Rusizi that borders Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the ministry of health.
The move came after Rwanda further eased a nationwide lockdown aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19, whereby transport between provinces and motorcycle passenger service have been resumed except in Rusizi and Rubavu, another town bordering DRC. Enditem
