Seven cases tested positive and on treatment in an isolated center.
“The patients are steadily recovering and they are under effective monitoring. Some of them no longer show signs and symptoms of coronavirus. We are following them up, after some few days we will do a second test to establish their status and those that will have cleared of the virus will be discharged,” said Dr. Nyamusore.
The seven are undergoing treatment in Kanyinya health centre in Nyarugenge district. At different health facilities, rooms have been designated for the purpose of receiving COVID-19 patients; 50 in Kanyinya, 25 in Rwanda Military Hospital, 120 in Kabgayi Hospital and 2 in 80 other facilities countrywide.
Eight people have tested positive of coronavirus and have been isolated, undergoing treatment.
Dr. Jean Baptiste Mazarati, Head of Department of Biomedical Services at the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) has said that when a person is suspected of having the virus, he or she is taken to a nearby hospital and placed in a designated ward, samples drawn and tested from the national laboratory.
He told the media that the test results are released after four to five hours.
”Since the outbreak of coronavirus in China, we have tested 1,200 people, and now conducting between 20 to 30 tests every day from different hospitals in the country.”
Dr. José Nyamusore, RBC Head of Epidemic Surveillance and Response, said the seven cases who were confirmed to be infected are responding well to treatment.
“They are all responding to treatment and no one is in critical condition. At times you call them and find they are doing sports. In a few days, they can be re-tested and see how the results are; if the viruses are gone they can go back to their families.”
He said people should continue to avoid shaking hands and observe hygienic practices.
The epidemic has already killed more than 7,000 people, and more than 180,000 have been infected worldwide.
Sources say the three suspects are Mutuyimboni Bonyde, Uwera Clarisse and Nyiransabimana Epiphanie. They were apprehended on March 17th, 2020 and are currently held at RIB Ngoma station.
Umuhoza Marie Michelle, RIB Spokesperson confirmed the arrest but omitted the amount of money they embezzled as further investigation is being conducted.
RIB reminded Rwandans that all forms of embezzlement are punishable by law and urged them not to withhold information about such criminal offenses.
Article 10 on corruption and embezzlement in the penal code of Rwanda states that embezzling funds from public organs, civil society, private institutions and international organizations operating in Rwanda is a criminal offense.
On conviction, culprits are liable to between 7 and 10 years of imprisonment and a penalty threefold the amount embezzled.
The decision follows a drastic slump in air travel demand globally after governments closed borders, companies banned lucrative business travel and conferences and events were canceled in response to coronavirus.
Jambojet started flying to Kigali in November 2019 and recently bought two De Havilland aircraft, flying from Jomo Kenyatta Airport to Kigali International airport once a day.
The airline announced it was suspending flights to Kigali via Twitter in an announcement that reads: “Over the past few weeks, there has been a global spread of the COVID-19 which resulted in a decrease of airline passengers, especially on the international routes. As a result, Jambojet has decided to suspend its services to Kigali, Rwanda, and Entebbe, Uganda with immediate effect.”
Jambojet will keep operating its flights to Malindi, Ukunda, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Eldoret in Kenya. The airline cancels Kigali and Entebbe flights at a time when major airlines in the world are struggling to keep afloat. Since its establishment in 2014, Jambojet has transported more than 3 million passengers.
Flights from Kigali to Nairobi cost Rwf 102,000. Jambojet obtained a flight permit from Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA) on November 19th, 2019.
The suspect who is a resident of Gatsibo district is accused of raping two young boys on March 15th, 2020 after luring them with money.
Marie Michelle Umuhoza, RIB Spokesperson told IGIHE that RIB was informed of the crime by one of the boys’ parent who called in for help. “The suspect is currently held at RIB Rukara station as further investigation is being conducted.”
Umuhoza warned Rwandans that no criminal acts will be tolerated and that rapists in particular will be shown no mercy.
The penal code of Rwanda subjects one found guilty to between 20 and 25 years of imprisonment for sexual crimes committed on minors including defilement. If the victim is under 14, convicts are liable for life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.
When rape on a minor resulted into an incurable disease or handicap, the convict is liable for life imprisonment with no room for parole.
CHAN 2020 was expected to be the 6th edition of the championship and was scheduled from April 4th to April 25th, 2020. The championship was expected to bring together 16 football teams including Rwanda.
The announcement which was released on March 17th, 2020 attributes the changes to the outbreak of coronavirus. The next dates for the event were not communicated.
FIFA requested all member bodies to halt all football events till April with the hope that the World Health Organization (WHO) will find a cure to the pandemic.
CAF explained that the decision to postpone CHAN 2020 resulted from WHO advises to contain coronavirus and the fact that more cases have been identified in Africa. In Cameroon, 4 cases have so far been identified.
On March 17th, 2020, COCAN, CHAN governing body in Cameroon confirmed that it is practically impossible to host the championship with the ongoing pandemic.
Many African countries including Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Rwanda, and Egypt have made changes in their football activities to address health threats posed by a coronavirus.
Coronavirus came as an exogenous bolt from the blue, coming with it a cascade of default actions and inactions. It has disrupted and altered our routines, culture, businesses, incomes, and welfare in just two weeks.
It is one of the most feared cataclysms in modern history with the possibility of zipping up, going into hibernation even more terrifying.
It’s a crisis playing out in microdecisions; how we go to the market, how our children school, intensified hygienic practices-tiny decisions with far reaching effects depending on how well each is done.
Many world powers at first took it for a triviality, with president David Trump saying in his usual tart dry statements: “It’s going to disappear. One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear. Maybe [it could] go away. We’ll see what happens. Nobody really knows.”
In Rwanda, we are lucky to have a president who inspires confidence in normal and times of crisis. During this year’s Umwiherero [leadership Retreat] the former minister of health tried dilly-dallying with instructions of testing participants. She was fired.
When the first case of coronavirus was identified in the country, President Paul Kagame was the first to demonstrate an end to time-long practices of handshakes and hugs; issued a statement on avoiding panic but focus on recommended practices and discipline; and joined WHO in Safe Hands campaign-a handwashing promotion practice.
Since then, a number of drastic actions have been taken; students sent home, entertainment and conferences postponed, big gatherings banned, among others.
Controls and screening had earlier been established at the airport and border posts.
Good enough Rwandans have been compliant and vigilant. In Kigali, handwashing cans with liquid soap have been placed at every restaurant, bar, market and big malls.
For those that have the capacity to work online, are doing so, giving social distancing a meaning, reducing contact and attendant risks.
This has played well to demonstrate that in any developing crisis, it’s best not to panic but to be smart and prudent.
The vigilance, especially, has to be strengthened because much as coronavirus is not as lethal as Ebola, its danger lies more in its contagiousness i.e. the ability of the virus to spread from one sick person to others. Again, scientists say, coronavirus is not the most contagious disease there is, but it can spread quickly and, more alarmingly, an infected person can be contagious before symptoms appear, and thus unknowingly infect those around him or her.
So when you hear people say that schools in Rwanda have closed because the infected are in latent thousands, you know they do not understand the disease and the leadership of Rwanda. Rwandan leadership is not accustomed to consuming, and reacting to, “moments.” They prepare for the worst and work for the best. Simple.
So the important thing Rwanda has done is to communicate, to inform, to sort out who is really infected. Direct, transparent communications like it is being done by the Ministry of Health is crucial. More, though, needs to be communicated on; keeping distance, motor-taxi travels, saunas, gyms, salons, and beauty parlors.
As a country that is inching out of many shadows, including out of poverty, the leadership cannot afford the luxury of waiting for stern action only when everywhere the “system is blinking red.” No.
Getting overwhelmed by numbers should be kept at bay by doing the right preventive practices. Now.
Beyond the direct health realms, managing resource allocation, daily press briefings, identifying false information and formulating stop-gap measures to address deficits in the economic performance as a result of coronavirus is of great importance in relieving families and businesses that have been immensely affected by the pandemic.
Rwanda has already decided to consult with banks on the possibility of adjusting loan repayment regimes for borrowers whose businesses have been hit by the coronavirus and promised to lax tax returning and payment procedures and timing.
What will become of us as citizens of the world? That page is blank. For now.
On Tuesday, March 17, 2020, the Nyarugenge High Court ruled that Nkamiro Zaina, Umulisa Gisèle, Kamanzi Cyiza Cardinal, Umuhoza Konny, Umuhoza Rosine, Umutoni Hadidja and Uwimana Zainabu were guilty of attempted murder as charged.
The seven suspects were involved in a premeditated plot to murder Mukamana Sandrine but their heinous act was foiled.
Their trial of the case began in March 5, 2020. The defendants pleaded guilty of assaulting Mukamana but pleaded not guilty on charges of attempted murder. The sentence was passed in the defendants and their lawyers’ absence.
Zhang Xinmin, director of the National Center for Biotechnology Development, named the drug at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
He said the drug was found to be effective in clinical trials by two medical organizations in the country. He said the medicine worked for coronavirus-related symptoms including pneumonia and had no obvious side effects.
The director said the tests were conducted in the cities of Wuhan and Shenzhen and involved 240 patients and 80 patients respectively.
He said those who were given the medicine in Shenzhen turned negative for the virus after a median of four days after becoming positive, while it took a median of 11 days for those without the drug.
The trial also found that X-ray photos confirmed improvements in lung conditions in about 91 percent of the patients who were given the medicine. The number stood at 62 percent for those without the drug.
The director said the drug is highly safe and its effect is obvious, and formally recommends the use of the medicine as a way to tackle the virus.
A Chinese firm that has licensed the drug from its Japanese developers got government approval last month to mass-produce the medication.
China on Monday confirmed 21 new cases of the virus infections, bringing the total in the country to more than 80,000. It’s death toll now stands at 3,226.
From Southeast Asia to Europe to the Americas, people found their lives upended by lockdowns and social distancing.
Shoppers in Malaysia stood in long lines to stock up at picked-over supermarkets. Commuters in the Philippines waited in huge traffic jams at checkpoints set up to take their temperatures before entering the capital of Manila.
Seven counties around San Francisco issued a sweeping shelter-in-place mandate, ordering millions to stay at home and go outside only for food, medicine and essential outings.
Spain, now the fourth-most infected country, saw infections rise Tuesday by more than 2,000 in one day to 11,178 and virus-related deaths jump by almost 200 to 491. Only China, Italy and Iran had more infections.
With the number of cases worldwide topping 183,000, a surge of patients in Madrid’s hospitals has fueled worries across Europe of what lies ahead. Please went out to send masks and ventilators to places like Italy and Spain that are struggling with soaring caseloads.
“There is no easy or quick way out of this extremely difficult situation,” Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, said in the first televised speech by a Dutch leader since 1973.
Iran state TV warned the virus could kill “millions” in the Islamic Republic if the public keeps on traveling, ignoring health guidance. World Health Organization officials have said the number of cases there — nearly 15,000 with 853 deaths — have been sharply underreported.
Airlines across the world have slashed flights due to a plunge in demand but also because many countries have been barring foreign arrivals.
Turkey planned to evacuate 3,614 citizens stranded in nine European countries after flights were suspended, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.
Germany launched a 50 million-euro ($56-million) effort to bring home thousands of tourists stranded in popular winter vacation spots across the globe, including up to 5,000 in Morocco alone.
“Even if we will do everything humanly possible, we cannot in every case provide a solution within 24 hours,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned.
In Lithuania, trucks seeking to enter Poland backed up in a line 60 kilometers (37 miles) long after Poland closed its border to foreigners due to the new coronavirus.
German police organized a convoy to help stranded citizens from Baltic states get back home by ferry after the Poland closure.
Italy reported another jump in infections, up to 27,980. With 2,158 deaths, Italy now accounts for well over a quarter of the global death toll.
The cascade of event cancellations continued, with Thailand calling off its water festival in April and the Kentucky Derby reportedly prepared to delay the famous U.S. horse race for the first time since World War II. India shut down the Taj Mahal.
Some bright spots emerged. Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus was first detected late last year and which has been under lockdown for weeks, reported just one new case Tuesday.
The virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, for most people, but severe illness is more likely in the elderly and people with existing health problems. COVID-19 has killed over 7,100 people so far but more than 79,000 have recovered.
The economic toll from the crisis to both companies and individuals was only escalating. Shares reversed early losses in Asia on Tuesday after the U.S. stock market plunged to its worst day in more than three decades. Huge swaths of many economies have come to a standstill as businesses and travel shut down due to the outbreak.
In the United States, officials urged older Americans and those with chronic health conditions to stay home, and recommended all group gatherings be capped at 10 people. Americans returning from abroad encountered chaotic airport health screenings that clearly broke all virus-fighting rules against crowds
School closings in 56 countries kept more than 516 million students home, the United Nations said. New York City joined those ranks Monday, closing a school system with 1.1 million students.
Some countries that had resisted more stringent measures snapped into action, too.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told people to eliminate unnecessary contact with others, working from home where possible and avoiding bars, restaurants, theaters and other venues. Schools remained opened for the time being.
Some scientists, and many worried Britons, have said the government should have taken tough action sooner.
Britain’s dramatic escalation of social restrictions to fight COVID-19 was sparked by new scientific evidence suggesting that 250,000 people in the U.K. and more than 1 million in the U.S. might die if the country did not suppress the spread of the new coronavirus.
The analysis, published by Imperial College London epidemiologists, drew on the latest data from Italy. It found that a strategy of “mitigation” — slowing but not stopping the spread of the virus while protecting vulnerable groups like the elderly — would still lead to a huge number of cases that would overwhelm the health care system.
The scientists said a tougher “suppression” strategy would sharply reduce deaths but would “need to be maintained until a vaccine becomes available (potentially 18 months or more).”
As the virus ebbed domestically, China promoted its efforts to help other virus-stricken countries, including Italy, South Korea and Iran.
“When everyone needs to work together to fight the epidemic, no country can stand aloof, and we all must work together to get over the difficulties,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang Geng told reporters.
