At least 2,489 people have been punished in Rwanda in the past few weeks, after being found disobeying national directives to contain the spread of Covid-19, a senior police officer revealed in Kigali over the weekend.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations and Public Order, George Rumanzi explained that people were arrested for mostly violating the mandatory full lockdown curfew imposed in the city.
When caught, those who violate curfew are arrested and taken to various centers where they spend the night until 5am when the regulation ends.
According to the Rwandan National Police (RNP), the centres are used as awareness grounds where those caught are educated on the government directives on Covid-19 prevention as well as recommended safety and hygiene practices.
According to the police, 1,221 vehicles were also impounded for at least 30 days and their drivers will have to pay a fine of Rwf25,000 ($25)
With the exception of Kigali which is under lockdown as part of COVID-19 prevention measures, curfew hours in other parts of the country have been extended to between 6p.m and 4a.m.
Previously, curfew hours were between 8p.m to 4a.m.
As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed cases in Rwanda is 12,647 after 204 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
CU/as/APA