Author: Nicole Kamanzi Muteteri

According to a statement released last night, new cases were found in Kigali: 71, Rubavu: 9, Huye: 5, Rusizi: 1 and Nyanza: 1.’

Rwanda confirmed the first COVID-19 patient on 14th March 2020.

Since then, 7598 people have been infected out of 700,965 sample tests, of whom 6163 have recovered, 1369 are active cases while 66 have succumbed to the virus.

Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.

The body in a sack has been found in bamboos surrounding the lake, 200 meters away from the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Residents who saw the body told IGIHE that it was laid in a sack with legs touching Lake Kivu water.

“The upper body covered in a sack was on ground while the remaining part was laid in water,” said Jean Pierre Kayitare.

The executive secretary of Cyangugu cell, Mukazayire Liliane, said they are waiting for postmortem results to establish cause of the death.

“We have found the body on water. We are waiting for further details from Rwanda Investigation Bureau and autopsy results. The body covered in a sack was laid on water. It remains ambiguous if he drowned or not,” she said.

The spokesperson of Rwanda Investigation Bureau, Dr Murangira Thierry has told IGIHE that investigation has started to establish cause of the death.

{VIRUSES reproduce abundantly, and with imperfect fidelity, so mutations are commonplace among them. Most such mutations, though, have little or no effect on how a virus spreads or how deadly it is. And, until recently, SARS-CoV-2, the covid-19 virus, has been no exception to that rule.}

Regrettably, this seems to be changing. A new variant of the virus, known as B.1.1.7, is spreading rapidly through Britain, and local scientists estimate that it is about 50% more transmissible than other variants currently in circulation. The British authorities are therefore rushing into action to try to limit its spread. Those parts of the country where B.1.1.7 is most prevalent, including London, went into lockdown on December 20th. But cases have been turning up elsewhere, and more areas will be locked down from December 26th. More than 50 countries, moreover, have closed their borders to arrivals from Britain. Some parts of Europe are admitting only those who can show evidence of a recent negative test.

At the moment, only a few cases of B.1.1.7 are known from places other than Britain—though it has turned up in Australia, Denmark, Iceland and the Netherlands. Many experts think, however, that it is already circulating more widely than that. It is likely Britain rang the alarm bell first because it has a well-organised system for sequencing the genes of viral samples taken from patients. About 10% of virus-positive samples are so sequenced, compared with either about 1%, or none at all, in most other European countries. According to Thomas Connor of Cardiff University, in the past week alone more samples have been sequenced in Wales (population 3m) than in France (67m) during the entire pandemic. Similarly, one estimate suggests that America has sequenced only about 40 samples since the beginning of December, compared with more than 3,700 in Britain.

It is not yet clear whether B.1.1.7 causes symptoms that are any more severe than those induced by its longer-established cousins. Studies to answer this question are under way, but encouragingly hospital-admission data in B.1.1.7 hotspots do not imply that the new variant is making people more ill.

Researchers in Britain are also looking for further evidence that B.1.1.7 is more contagious than previous strains—and, if so, why. The two factors which currently suggest its greater contagiousness are its speed of spread and the details of its mutations.

That B.1.1.7 has spread faster than older versions of SARS-CoV-2 in those parts of Britain where infections have been rising unusually rapidly seems certain. It accounted, for example, for 62% of new infections in London in the week ending December 9th, up from 28% in early November. It has also accumulated an exceptionally large number of mutations—23 of them, only six of which are silent (meaning they make no difference to the final composition of the proteins encoded by their parts of the virus’s genome).

Yet more worryingly, both laboratory and animal studies have found that some of the 17 non-silent mutations in the new variant make it better at infecting cells, at making more copies of itself once it enters those cells, and at evading antibodies originally generated by the immune system during infections with other variants.

Perhaps the best evidence that B.1.1.7 is more contagious, though, is that those infected by it have higher viral loads—that is, they have more virus particles in their throat and nose swabs—than people infected by other variants. The role of viral load in contagiousness was, until recently, based on supposition rather than evidence. But a new study in Britain of about 30,000 infected people and their close contacts shows that the likelihood of someone with SARS-CoV-2 infecting others increases steadily with viral load.

Reinforcing this point, researchers from South Africa, which also has an efficient covid-19 genome-sequencing programme, have found that a fast-spreading variant detected there also has an unusually high number of mutations and shares one in particular with B.1.1.7. The South African variant is also linked to higher viral load, and has been suggested by researchers as a reason why the epidemic there has accelerated. Several countries have also banned travellers from South Africa.

A big worry with the emergence of B.1.1.7 and similar variants is whether they may reduce the effectiveness of covid-19 vaccinations. Several of the changes in B.1.1.7 are in the gene that encodes “spike”, a protein found on the surfaces of coronavirus particles which they use to enter cells. Spike is the target of the first covid-19 vaccines. But these vaccines stimulate immune reactions to parts of the protein not affected by those mutations. There is a broad consensus among experts that vaccines already in use against SARS-CoV-2 will be effective against the B.1.1.7 variant, at least until large numbers of people are vaccinated. At that point, however, natural selection will begin to favour mutations which evade the vaccine’s effects.

Source: The Economist

The tragedy happened Monday midday but the body was retried around 7pm.

The child drowned as he went to fetch water from the quarry which had not been in use for quite some time, thus becoming a deep cesspool.

Residents who spoke to IGIHE revealed that they had complained to local authorities urging them to earth-fill the abandoned open quarry that has been accumulating flowing water but nothing was done until the child drowned.

The executive secretary of Nkaka sector, Nsabimana Kazungu Alex said they are to summon the person who extracted stones from the quarry but failed to heed to the advice of refilling it.

“We sent a letter to the person who used to extract stones, instructing him to refill the quarry. We have decided to summon him to tell us why he neglected warnings, order him to fill it it at all cost and later follow up with insurance,” he promised.

Amb. Karabaranga was accompanied by the first and second secretaries to Rwanda’s embassy in Senegal respectively Guillaume Serge Nzabonimana and Anitha Kamariza.

Before presenting credentials. Amb.Karabaranga held talks with Mavky Sall that hinged about promoting bilateral relations.

He also conveyed greetings from President Paul Kagame who wished well the Senegalese and the Government officials.

Amb. Karabaranga promised to maintain cordial bilateral relations characterized by mutual cooperation to take it to greater heights.

Macky Sall also promised support during his tour of duty and reiterated commitment to strive for continued strong bilateral relations.

He commended Rwanda’s leadership under the stewardship of President Kagame which he considered a role model on African continent and expressed interest in promoting mutual cooperation.

Karabaranga is representing Rwanda in Senegal and other West African countries including Mali, Gambia, Cap Vert and Guinea Bissau.

Rwanda opened Senegal embassy in 2011. Senegal is represented in Rwanda by Doudou Sow with residence in Kigali.

Rwanda and Senegal enjoy strong bilateral relations rooted on brotherhood of both head of states, Kagame and Macky Sall.

Senegal accommodates many Rwandans for education or other purposes for the past 40 years.

In 2016, RwandAir launched flights to various destinations of Western Africa including Cotonou, Abidjan, Douala and Dakar in Senegal among others.

{The Ministry of Health has reported the 66th person who succumbed to COVID-19, 109 new cases out of 4149 sample tests and 63 recoveries.}

The deceased is a 28 year-old old man in Kigali.

According to a statement released last night the new cases were found in Kigali: 40, Gatsibo: 9, Rwamagana: 8, Ngororero: 8, Kirehe: 7, Musanze: 5, Rubavu: 5, Nyagatare: 5, Huye: 5, Muhanga: 4, Gakenke: 4, Kayonza: 3, Bugesera: 2, Rusizi: 2, Burera: 1 and Gisagara: 1.’

Rwanda confirmed the first CVOID-19 patient on 14th March 2020. So far, 7511 have been tested positive out of 698,599 sample tests, 6163 have recovered, 1282 are active cases while 66 have succumbed to the pandemic.

The Ministry of Health reports rates the prevalence of death tolls at 0.9% and new infections at 2.6%.

Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.

The cabinet meeting of 14th December 2020 issued new COVID-19 preventive measures that prohibited all forms of social gatherings including wedding ceremonies in public or private settings.

Following the decision, some people were caught for organizing weddings. They were educated and fined for violating instituted guidelines.

The statement released yesterday signed by the Minister of Local Government, Prof. Anastase Shyaka indicates that only people who entered Rwanda from abroad for wedding purposes can be allowed to proceed after presenting tangible reasons.

“ We would like to inform you that people coming from abroad for wedding plans, can be allowed to do civil marriage and religious wedding in a ceremony that must not attract more than 10 participants including the bride and groom,” reads the statement in part.

It further reads that participants should go for COVID-19 test and present negative results ahead of ceremonies. The reception is not allowed.

“The application for wedding permission is submitted to the mayor of the district citing reasons for the emergency [passport, visa or booked ticket among others],”adds the statement.

Others have been urged to postpone wedding ceremonies until further notice as the pandemic reduces.

Rwanda confirmed the first case in March 2020. Since then, 7402 people have been tested positive out of 694,450 sample tests of whom 6100 have recovered, 1237 are active cases while 65 have succumbed to the virus.

Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.

This was during inspection and operations on compliance with COVID-19 directives conducted jointly by the Police and local authorities in Jenda Sector, on December 19-20.

They were arrested in two separate bars owned by Emmanuel Kubwimana, 45, and Felix Niyoyita, 32 in Nyirakigugu and Kabatezi cells respectively.

Some of the violators turned violent in the process as the Police and local authorities were enforcing the directives.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Bonavanture Twizere Karekezi said that on December 19, as the Police and local leaders were carrying out inspection on COVID-19 prevention compliance in Jenda, Nyirakigugu cell, they found 43 people drinking in the bar owned by Kubwimana.

“At about 11am, Police and the local authorities found 43 people drinking an illicit brew called Umufwe. They were congested, drinking from one pot and sharing straws, meaning if there was direct contact for one infected person he or she could infect everyone who was there,” said CIP Karekezi.

On Sunday, December 20, the spokesperson added, seven other people were caught in the bar owned by Felix Niyoyita located in Kabatezi Cell, Jenda Sector. Niyoyita is among those arrested as he was also serving Umufwe substance, to his clients.

According to CIP Karekezi, some violators and local residents became violent when the Police and local leaders were enforcing the directives at Niyoyita’s bar.

“Residents started pelting stones at Police and local leaders to prevent the arrest of some of their relatives and friends, but the situation was contained and violators were held accountable,” CIP Karekezi said.

He cautioned the public against breaching the national health and safety guidelines against the pandemic and warned those who attempt to obstruct enforcement of the directives.

All the violators were educated on the pandemic and health guidelines.
The bars were closed and owners fined accordingly, while the illicit substances were disposed of.

The number of deaths continues to increase where the pandemic has killed six people within two days.

The deceased include a 39-year old woman from Kigali and 58-year old man from Gicumbi district.

The statement released last night also reported 109 new cases out of 4229 sample tests. They were found in Kigali: 56, Ngororero: 12, Rubavu: 12, Nyabihu: 8, Muhanga: 5, Huye: 4, Rusizi: 4, Kamonyi: 3, Gicumbi: 3 and Musanze: 2.’

Rwanda confirmed the first case in March 2020. Since then, 7402 people have been tested positive out of 694,450 sample tests of whom 6100 have recovered, 1237 are active cases while 65 have succumbed to the virus.

The Minister of Health, Dr Daniel Ngamije recently said that strict measures need to be embraced to control the up surging cases.

Coronavirus symptoms include coughing, flu, and difficulty in breathing. The virus is said to be transmitted through the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Rwandans are urged to adhere to COVID-19 health guidelines, washing hands frequently using soaps and safe water, wearing face masks and respecting social distancing.