Police and local authorities in Rubavu District caught 74 people on Friday, September 18, after they were found in prohibited sports activities on the shore of Lake Kivu.
Majority of the violators were the youth, some of whom were at the time found playing football while others engaged in varied sports disciplines.
Earlier on, the group first took to the road to jog before they started playing football and other body contact sports, all of which are prohibited in this period due to the risk they pose in spreading COVID-19.
At the time, they were found with no facemasks and body contact was the norm.
The violators were enlightened on the pandemic of novel Coronavirus, government directives in this period including safety practices and were, afterwards, penalised for the violations.
The acting Western Regional Police Commander (RPC), Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Edmond Kalisa reminded them that sports activities are not prohibited but have to follow the recommended safety guidelines to prevent catching or spreading COVID-19.
“What you did today could have exposed all of you to the virus, if one of you was infected, which could as well be a danger to your respective families,” CSP Kalisa told the group of violators.
“There are allowed and prohibited sports disciplines; football, sports done in groups or those that can lead to body contacts are prohibited. You can only do any sport activity individually but not as a group,” he added.
The mayor of Rubavu, Gilbert Habyarimana warned the youth against undermining the safety directives intetionally, adding that this will not be tolerated. (End)