Members of the public are gradually adapting to national Covid-19 guidelines again, following a renewed sense of vulnerability and vigilance as the country continues to see a surge in new infections.
The cabinet over the weekend underlined the significance of enforcing existing national guidelines, and tightened restrictions in some aspects - with new measures coming into force
While most of the rules have been in place for over a year now, several of them were generally loosely observed, a situation that's largely blamed for the recent spike in cases, particularly in
When a New Times' team visited different businesses in the
At the
Many of the 'social distancing' circles we were used to seeing in front of shops and other businesses as well as at public transport terminals and bus stops in the early days of the pandemic have largely faded. This was the case at the city market when we visited it on Monday, save for a few freshly repainted spots.
"We are talking to our bosses to see if more circles can be restored as soon as possible," Longene Irakiza, a youth volunteer at the city market told The New Times. A shopper is supposed to stand within marked space, at least a metre from another buyer.
Vendors in markets are required to work in shifts of 50/50.
Remember the strings shop owners used to keep clients at a safe distance? They are back. At least in some places.
And, inside individual shops, only one attendant is allowed at a time.
Social distancing must also be observed inside shops, said Irakiza. "There has to be strictly one attendant."
Youth volunteers, otherwise formally known as
Cashless payments
At major stores and commercial complexes, like the
"We have codes to pay us on, but many clients don't want to use the
Youth volunteers constantly walk through the hallways of this facility - that was once temporarily closed due to Covid outbreak - reminding people to wear their masks properly and checking if the clients are not too physically close to each other.
For every open shop there was another closed as part of the mandatory shift arrangement.
Salgo, who was alone in his shop like most other shop attendants around the building, kept reminding customers to keep a distance and to wait for others to finish with their shopping. He was also urging them to use
Temperature screenings rare
Many shops, pharmacies and paperwork houses have also 'remembered' to put sanitizers on their tables, and brought back 'kandagira ukarabe' hand-washing containers, along with liquid soaps.
Equally, many restaurants The New Times visited this week had reduced the number of seats and created space between tables to meet the requirement of a minimum of two-metre distance.
Yet so few screen clients for temperatures.
Generally, across the city, while most businesses seem to be complying with the closure hours (8p.m) and are generally responsive to other safety protocols, the situation is nowhere near the heightened vigilance witnessed in the early days of the pandemic. Blatant violations remain too. Some people are even still clandestinely operating illegal bars in their homes.
One area where the impact of new
At the downtown bus station, every entrance was manned by volunteers who made sure that every commuter washed their hands or sanitized properly before boarding.
Every bus stop has a volunteer standing there whose task is to show commuters where to stand, reminding them to wear their masks properly and making sure that each bus carries a maximum of 50% of its capacity.
However, there were no temperature screenings when we visited the park.
Compliance 'still a challenge'
"Things have changed back to the previous guidelines, because they brought again that system of one person per seat with just a few people standing and maintaining a distance," says
But some members of the public, including business operators, have also been faulted for flouting guidelines.
"Some people are not cooperative," said Yassina Igihozo, the
She added, "These guidelines are not new per se because they were first rolled out last year but compliance is still a challenge even as people generally know what is at stake when they violate the rules.
"However, we will continue playing our part and working closely with the public and other stakeholders like the police and local authorities to enforce safety guidelines," she added.
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