The Director-General of Rwanda Biomedical Centre, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, has said that the record-high numbers of Covid-19 cases registered on Saturday should not scare people, but rather should be a wakeup call that the pandemic has gone nowhere.

Yesterday Saturday, June 13, Rwanda reported 31 new Covid-19 confirmed cases- the highest since mid-March when the country registered her first case.

In a statement issued the same day, the Ministry of Health noted that Rusizi cluster and Rusumo continue to drive new cases.

This pushed the numbers of Covid-19 cases in the two areas higher. It should be noted that before Saturday’s update, Rusizi District, which is currently under lockdown, had about 89 total confirmed cases.

Today Sunday, June 14, in an interview with media Dr. Nsanzimana assured Rwandans that things have not gone out of control.

According to Nsanzimana, though Saturday’s numbers were the highest Rwanda has recorded in one day, they appeared in the usual areas – not in new places of the country

"They (the cases) did not come from somewhere new. We have been aware of what is taking place in Rusizi and Kirehe districts,” he said.

"This is where a large number of the cases recorded yesterday appeared. For example in Rusizi, there were large numbers of Rwandans that returned to the country yesterday, and these had a big share among those that tested positive on the day.”

"In Kirehe, we have been seeing cross-border truck drivers and their contacts representing a big portion of the positive cases recorded,” he added.

He said that the rise in cases can also be accounted for the increase in the number of tests carried out every day. Rwanda Biomedical Centre yesterday carried out 2,043 sample tests from which the 31 positive cases were found.

So far, Rwanda has made a total of 87,656 sample tests.

Nsanzimana called upon Rwandans not to relax, thinking that the pandemic is only in Rusizi and Rusumo,

"This is a wakeup call that the Coronavirus didn’t go anywhere,” he said.

"In the last fifteen days, no one knew that we would have this problem in Rusizi. So, in whichever district you are, you should know that you have to protect yourself. Wash your hands with water and soap or use a hand sanitizer; keep social distance; and wear facemasks,” he added.

The country has so far recorded a total of 541 Covid-19 cases since the outbreak was confirmed locally. Of these 332 have recovered, and two have died.