About two years ago, Rwanda was in a health crisis due to the covid-19 pandemic.
On Sunday 22 March 2020, the City of Kigali was placed under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to the provinces. Public transport is suspended. Markets sell only food, teleworking is launched. No one can leave their home without wearing a mask. 19 positive cases have already been recorded in the capital.
Barrier measures have been put into effect. The public transport from Kigali to the provinces was stopped to avoid the spread of the coronavirus throughout the country. The measures limit the damage, but the virus still spreads throughout the country.
In February 2021, vaccination is launched to try to curb this pandemic. As of 20 February 2022, more than 7.696 million people have already received two doses of the vaccine. About 1 million 462 thousand have received the booster dose. About 8 million 731 thousand are so far satisfied with the first dose only. The Rwandan population is now estimated to be over 13 million 477 thousand.
Deaths are no longer a daily occurrence. And when they do occur, they are rarely more than 4 spread over different districts, as of the end of September 2021.
The covid-19 pandemic is not yet over
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, reminds us that the covid-19 pandemic is not yet over (Photo WHO)
Since mid-October 2021, the results of the coronavirus tests no longer show alarming numbers of people suffering from covid-19. They were less than 50 per day. But with the arrival of the new variant called Omicron, the numbers rose again to more than 1000 positive cases by the end of December 2021. From January 2022 onwards, there has been a gradual decline in new positive cases. Today, less than 10 per day across the whole country.
The latest health situation of 20 February 2022 shows one death in Burera district, three new positive cases, including two from Kirehe and one from Kigali.
The man in the street no longer believes in the persistence of the covid-19 pandemic. There is a slackening in the respect of barrier measures. “There is no more covid-19 in this country,” one often hears.
“On covid-19, as you know, any changes to current measures will be announced by cabinet or the Prime’s minister Office in line with assessment by the Ministry of health,” said Yolande Makolo, Government sportsperson.
The Ministry of Health is not ready to relax in its efforts to eradicate the pandemic. “Everyone must be vaccinated. We expect all eligible people to be vaccinated,” says Julien Niyingabira Division manager, in Rwanda Health Communication Centre.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says the covid-19 pandemic is not yet over when 70,000 people die every week worldwide. He adds that the rate of vaccination in Africa is very low. 83% have not yet received a single dose.
For Bill Gates, the risks of serious illness from Covid-19 have “dropped considerably. But another pandemic is all but certain,” he said on CNBC International on Friday 18 February 2022.
He added that advances in medical technology should help the world better fight the disease. For that to happen, investments must be made now.
Gerard Rugambwa
