Rwandans are grateful for the commitment, dedication and sacrifice of the multi-department taskforce leading efforts in curbing the spread of the coronavirus in the country, President Paul Kagame said.

Kagame paid them a visit on Easter Sunday at the Command Post located at the Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village in the former Camp Kigali.

At the command post, the task force is involved in coordination and facilitation of efforts to trace, track and isolate Rwandans and residents who have come into contact with cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases to avoid further spread of the virus.

The taskforce is made up of officials and volunteers from various government and non-governmental departments.

"I am here to thank you for your commitment and dedication. You are serving selflessly, even with the knowledge that the work you are doing could have consequences on your health. You agreed to do this thinking of other Rwandans and the country. I can’t thank you enough,” he told them.

"I know that you are doing this out of selflessness, love of your country and with professionalism. All of this makes me grateful to each of you,” he said.

From their efforts, he noted that the country had made significant progress in tracking cases and curbing further spread of the virus as was evident in the number of confirmed cases so far.

"I have seen all the work that you do and where we stand today in terms of numbers of COVID-19 cases. There is no way we could have made this progress if people did not respect the lockdown,” he said.

Rwanda has so far registered 120 cases of coronavirus, of these, 18 have successfully been treated and discharged.

While most aspects of ordinary life in the country had come to a halt, Kagame said that there is hope that things will return to normality resulting from the efforts and professionalism of the team.  

"For now, the life of the country has to be on hold but there is hope that things will return to normal. And that hope coming true is founded on you and how you do your work,” he said.

He pledged continued support in every way possible to the team in their work so that Rwandans can soon resume normal lives.

"As government, we will keep doing everything we can to support you, so Rwandans can return to their normal lives,” he said.

Wishing them a happy Easter, the President said that there will be time to celebrate and thank them adequately when the storm had passed.

Rwanda, on March 21, announced a two-week lockdown which has since been extended for another two weeks to 19th March to enforce social distancing measures.

The country also closed all of its borders and suspended passenger’s flights, but maintained cargo transportation.

Vulnerable community members who are not able to earn a living during the lock-down have been helped through the Government’s exercise to distribute free foodstuff and essential sanitary products.

Globally, coronavirus cases have risen to more than 1,469,240, as of 12th April. Over 350,000 have since recovered from the virus.