January 05, 2021•Update: January 05, 2021
ANKARA
Rwanda’s annual national prayer breakfast scheduled to take place later this month was canceled as the country is in the midst of a spike in deaths and infections from the coronavirus pandemic, local media reported Tuesday.
The breakfast first held in 1995, is an event that brings together top leaders to celebrate Rwanda’s achievements, according to The New Times local website.
The Rwanda Leaders Fellowship that organizes the event canceled the breakfast as the government imposed strict measures Monday to curb the spread of the virus, according to the report.
“After a realistic analysis of the surge in Covid-19 cases in the country, we have canceled the annual event for this year,” Antoine Rutayisire, ex-chairman of the RLF, who is currently a member of the Executive Committee, told The New Times.
New measures include allowing 30% operational capacity at offices of public and private institutions, while other employees are urged to work from home, The New Times reported.
“Travel will only be permitted for medical reasons and essential services,” the website quoted a Cabinet statement. “Vehicles transporting goods will continue to function with no more than two people on board.”
Health officials confirmed 105 COVID-19-related deaths and 8,848 infections in the country of more than 13 million, according to the Worldometers website.
The restrictions came after recording four deaths Monday from COVID-19 as well as 172 new infections from 2,251 samples, said The New Times.
The virus has claimed more than 1.85 million lives in 191 countries and regions since first being detected in Wuhan, China last December, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.
More than 85.8 million people have been infected.
