KIGALI, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The  Health Ministry in Rwanda has launched Covid-19 testing on the elderly or people with high-risk illness in the Rusizi district in western Rwanda, an official said.

The area that borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is among two or three places in Rwanda that have been reporting new cases.

Part of it has been put under lockdown since June 4. The ministry has dedicated three days to test the elderly in Rusizi as research shows that those over 60 years of age have a greater risk of fatality from Covid-19, Director-General of Rwanda Biomedical Center Sabin Nsanzimana said on Tuesday on Rwanda Television's news program.

Also to be tested are people with existing illnesses, including diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, he said.

The test started from areas under lockdown, he said, and could be extended to other places in the country should the virus break out.

The health ministry is setting up a test laboratory in Rusizi to ensure a faster coming of Covid-19 test results, Nsanzimana said.