The Supreme Court has issued a statement restricting face to face court activities as a precaution in the wake of the fast-spreading new coronavirus (COVID-19).

This follows a decision by the government to suspend school schedules, religious services, sports leagues, and other public gatherings.

In a statement, the Supreme Court Spokesman Harrison Mutabazi said that the decision is aimed at protecting the health and safety of court employees, elected officials, and the general public.

“All activities for civil and criminal court cases shall be canceled in Rwanda for two weeks,” the statement read.

The statement added that other concerns shall be raised through IECMS, an online system that engages many tools to operate efficiently and effectively in conducting the business of the judiciary. They also recommended the use of a toll-free number 3670.

The changes take effect from Monday, March 16th.

The changes come after the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Rwanda this past weekend, from an Indian National who flew from Mumbai last week. This is the fourth case in East Africa. Kenya recorded three cases.

The deadly novel coronavirus that first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed over 5,000 lives and infected more than 134,000 people across 110 countries and territories. The World Health Organisation (WHO) classified the outbreak as a pandemic on Wednesday.