The New Times in Rwanda have reported that the organisers of the Tour of Rwanda are very disappointed with the news that three teams scheduled to start the race this weekend have cried off due to fears of the Ebola virus. This is despite the fact that there have not been any recorded cases of Ebola in the country.
The three teams that are now not travelling are Novo Nordisk (USA), Loup Sport (Switzerland) and Scody Downunder (Australia).
The president of the Rwandan Cycling Federation, Aimable Bayingana said that, “It is very ridiculous that the teams pulled out citing Ebola as an excuse. However, this is not an issue because as soon as they pulled out, other teams requested to compete in the tour because they know the significance of the event.”
The teams which are now travelling to start in their place are Team Meubles Decarte (Switzerland), AS BE CO (Eritrea) and SNH Velo Club (Cameroon).
Rwanda is over 3,700 kilometres from the outbreak in West Africa, and despite no cases of Ebola in the country, its citizens have had to endure screening when entering other countries. The Rwandan government seem to have had enough, and have now issued a directive for people entering from Spain and the US (where there have been cases) to report their medical conditions “regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms of Ebola.”
