Rwandan capital placed under total lockdown again

The government of Rwanda on Monday, January 18, decided to, again, put the capital, Kigali, under a total lockdown so as to try flatten the Covid-19 curve following reports of a surge in infections there. The newly announced two-week lockdown starts Tuesday, January 19. Only essential businesses including hospitals, food markets, and pharmacies will continue operating.

“The surge in cases specifically in the City of Kigali has necessitated a lockdown. Citizens are urged to significantly reduce social interactions and limit movements to essential services,” reads part of a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The country recorded 182 new cases - from 5,395 tests carried out in different parts of the country that day - of Covid-19 on January 17. This took the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 11,032.

The Ministry of Health indicated that Kigali had the largest number of new cases on on January 17,  registering 128 infections in the day. According to the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Kigali accounts for 61% of Covid-19 patients reported in Rwanda since January 1.

Rwanda has, so far, reported 11,032 Covid-19 cases, from a total of 796,867 sample tests taken since last March.

A total of 142 patients have succumbed to the viral virus in Rwanda. Landlocked Rwanda announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in mid-March last year.

An Indian citizen who arrived from Mumbai, India, on March 8, had tested positive of Covid-19.

Airport continues to operate

Just like tourism activities which will carry on with tourists abiding by health regulations in place to prevent the spread of the virus, Kigali International Airport too will continue operating.

Among other things, travellers arriving in Rwanda must complete a passenger locator form and upload a negative Covid-19 test certificate on www.rbc.gov.rw prior to their arrival.  A negative SARS-CoV 2Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test is mandatory, upon arrival. A test costs $60.

All travellers departing from Rwanda must also test negative for Covid-19. The only accepted test is the RT-PCR test. It is performed within 120 hours before departure.