The Ministry of Sports on Saturday, September 12, announced that Car Free Day exercises will resume effective with September 20, months after the initiative was halted due to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Like all sports activities that bring together large gatherings, the Car Free Day was suspended in March.

The Car Free Day initiative was launched in 2016 as a monthly event before turning bimonthly in 2018. Participants of the physical mass sports engage in walking, running, stretching and cycling. On that day, movements of vehicles in some parts of the City of Kigali are restricted.

Here are five guidelines that participants of the returned Car Free Day exercises should observe;

1. Symptomatic people restricted

According to the Ministry of Sports, people who have symptoms of Covid-19 are not allowed to participate in Car Free Day, a move aimed at preventing any possible spread of the Virus.

The symptoms include flu, headache, sneezing, cold, and fever among others.

2. Face mask before and after exercising 

The ministry has urged participants to put on their face masks properly before and after exercises.

According to Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), wearing a face mask while in high intensity sport activities may cause difficulty breathing, the reason those in sports have been advised to wear them before and after the exercises.

3. Physical distancing

While exercising, people taking part in Car Free Day are urged to keep two meters of physical distance between each other so as to prevent the possible spread of the virus.

4. Sanitisation

Participants of Car Free Day are also urged to carry with them hand sanitisers.

Since March when the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in Rwanda, regular hand-washing and use of hand sanitiser has been one of the strongly recommended practices that combat the pandemic.

5. No mass gathering

Participants of the physical exercises in Car Free Day have been warned not to exercise in groups, a practice that could potentially lead to the spread of Covid-19 if one member of a given group has the virus.