According to a statement from the European Union Council on October 22, Rwanda has been listed by the European Union, among the countries on which Covid-19 travel restrictions into the EU territory should be gradually lifted.
The move follows a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU.
Some of the criteria which the European Union considers for lifting travel restrictions on third countries (countries that are not members of the EU as well as countries whose citizens do not enjoy the European Union right to free movement) include their epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, as well as economic and social considerations.
Some of the other countries from which the restrictions have been lifted are Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Uruguay, Thailand, and New Zealand.
This now means that Rwanda is the only country in African to feature on the list.
The EU Council’s statement, however, indicates that this list will continue to be reviewed regularly and, as the case may be, updated.
In addition, the statement also says that European Union Council recommendation is not a legally binding instrument.
To this end, the authorities of the member states are responsible for implementing the content of the recommendation, where they may, in full transparency, lift only progressively travel restrictions towards the listed countries.
In the past few weeks, Rwanda has been reporting progress in the fight against Covid-19. As of today, Rwanda has recorded a total of 5,062 cases of which 4,806 have recovered and 34 have died.