The Ministry of Health on Friday, June 12 announced that Rusizi district in the western province so far has 89 confirmed cases of Covid-19. The district is currently under lockdown, with restricted movements with neighboring districts due to an increase in community cases that are continuously being detected in some sectors of the district. These sectors are Nyakarenzo, Mururu, Kamembe, a part of Gihundwe and Nkombo In an interview with the public broadcaster, RBA, Minister of Health Dr Daniel Ngamije explained that putting Rusizi under lockdown was an accurate decision. “We have so far recorded 89 cases in Rusizi district. Although this is not a small number, it would have been much worse if the district was not under lockdown,” he said. Commenting on why Nkombo Island was recently added on other sectors of Rusizi under total lockdown, Ngamije noted that “We detected Covid-19 cases in that area, who are mostly traders that may spread it to other parts of that district.” Nkombo Sector is home to 8,000 residents, most of whom rely on fishing activities. “Rubavu is doing well in the fight” In a recent cabinet meeting which extended the measures to contain Covid-19, Rubavu district remained under lockdown with restricted movements to other districts of the country. Highlighting the condition of the pandemic in this district, Ngamije noted that residents of Rubavu are observing preventive measures. “We want to thank residents of Rubavu district who are observing precautionary measures. As a result, we are no longer detecting community Covid-19 cases in this district,” he said. Of the 18 cases that Rwanda confirmed on Thursday, June 11, four cases were from Rubavu district. These patients, according to Ngamije, were cross-border traders who upon arrival were isolated and tested. Rwanda so far has a total of 510 confirmed cases of Covid-19, of whom 321 have recovered. As of now, the country has recorded two deaths since outbreak of the pandemic in mid-March.
