The Rwandan capital city Kigali’s iconic fireworks display on New Year’s Eve has been cancelled due to fears of a new wave of COVID-19 infections, municipality authorities say on Wednesday.
The decision to cancel the fireworks display was announced by the Mayor of the City of Kigali Pudence Rubingisa who said that some facilities such as hotels can apply to have their own fireworks if they demonstrate that they will observe Covid-19 measures.
According to municipality authorities, only one hotel located downtown Kigali city has been given a node to display fireworks. Others might also apply and be given green light.
The recent spike in Covid-19 cases in Rwanda prompted the government to institute new measures to deal with the virus spread, including extending curfew hours.
In addition, Rubingisa cautioned Kigali residents to avoid social gatherings and unnecessary movements during this festive season.
Rwanda has reported one new death in the last 24 hours , bringing the number of fatalities up to 66 total fatalities.
The East African country has also reported 109 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total cases to 7,511. Of those infected, 1,282 are still hospitalized and 6,163 have recovered.
CU/abj/APA