Nyabugogo Market (commonly known as Kwa Mutangana) and the Nyarugenge City Market will effective Monday, August 17 close for one week as the government seeks to control a sudden spike in new infections in Kigali.

The decision comes after the government said that the 253 people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in the country since Friday are mostly people from Nyarugenge and Nyabugogo (kwa Mutangana) markets plus a few from the country’s ministries.

Of these, Kigali alone accounts for 219 cases.

In a letter dated August 16, the Mayor of City of Kigali, Pudence Rubingisa, said that those who operate in this market, especially those who sell perishables will be given time to remove their stock and relocate to another market.

"The leadership of both markets will inform those who sell perishables what their next area of operation will be. We would like to inform you that these two areas that you are vacating will be disinfected and those who operate there will continue to be tested,” he said.

Appearing on a talk show on the national broadcaster on Sunday evening, Rubingisa said that there is a poor attitude towards following the simple guidelines requiring one to frequently wash their hands, wear a mask and observe social distance.

"In our analysis, the issue right now is poor attitude. The attitude we keep seeing out here is that of complacency. In the markets, people are ignoring the spots marked to ensure social distancing, meaning that they won’t wash their hands if no one is there to insist and where police are not present, they will remove their masks,” he said.

Rubingisa reminded that as the heart of the country, the City of Kigali sees a high influx of people and the efforts put into enforcing the Covid-19 safety guidelines should be tighter.

Hard choices

On the same show, the Minister of Health Dr. Daniel Ngamije said that tests within all the markets in Kigali and other high-risk zones will kick off this week to determine the next steps which may as a last resort see the imposing of another lockdown.

He reminded that the government will not sit by as the pandemic spreads vastly, outweighing its capacity to deal with it.

"A lockdown is a hard but possible decision. People need to know that if the numbers continue to rise, there are some hard decisions that will have to be made. We are this week doing tests in all City of Kigali markets and the outcome will determine the next steps,” he said.

Police Spokesperson CP John Bosco Kabera said that the measures of protecting oneself from Covid-19 should be different now than it was during the lockdown due to the influx of people.

Almost all businesses are open. There are local leaders, volunteers and other security personnel. There is a need to sit down and revise how these guidelines can be enforced collectively," he said.