Rwanda on Wednesday recorded four Covid-19 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in more than a week.

This is the third time the virus has claimed four lives in a single day this month, during which 24 people have so far succumbed to Covid. The last time daily fatalities reached four this month was June 8 and June 1. 

The development comes at a time when Rwanda is seeing a surge in confirmed Covid-19 cases after infections had subsided for a couple of months. 

According to the nightly Covid-19 update from the Ministry of Health, 11 people were in critical condition on Wednesday, June 16, with 2416 cases still active. And, for the second day running, no one recovered from the virus, according to the update.

Those who lost their lives on Wednesday include two men from Kigali, one aged 48 and the other 59, as well as two women, a 73-year-old from Huye District, and another aged 76 from Kigali. 

Mortality rate stands at 1.3 per cent, while test positivity rate is at 4.6 per cent. A total of 5679 tests were conducted Thursday.

City of Kigali, which comprises three districts, recorded the highest number of positive cases on the day, at 78, followed by Musanze District (42), Burera District (38), Rubavu District (32), Rulindo District (20), and Kamonyi (13). Thirteen districts recorded single digit positive cases. 

Health officials have urged renewed vigilance amid a surge in new infections, with Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, the director-general of Rwanda Biomedical Centre, telling journalists Wednesday that new cases had risen by 245 per cent over the last one week.