The minister reiterated the need for stringent punitive measures on Monday. Shyaka said that ways through which coronavirus is transmitted are well known, making it easy to avoid and prevent but which calls for restraint and discipline.

”So the task is to make everyone feel that they are the protectors of their health, their family and the country.”

"Secondly, as local leaders, we feel that the lives of Rwandans are in our hands and that strengthening prevention measures is our priority; so how we work together, and how we compel them to comply with these guidelines, is a great responsibility we have to pursue," he said.

Some of the measures taken include wearing face-masks whenever one goes to a crowded place, washing one’s hands frequently with clean water and soap and avoiding crowding.

The Minister of Local Government Prof Shyaka Anastase has called for punitive action on violators of the Coronavirus prevention guidelines so that the pandemic gets contained.