THE New Year 2021 has picked up from where its predecessor left off as far as Covid-19 pandemic is concerned, both in Rwanda and across the world. The number of positive cases have drastically shot up in recent weeks, with deaths more than doubling in just one month (from 50 as of December 3, 2020 up to 101 as of January 3, 2021) and the fatality rate rising from 0.8 to 1.2 per cent. Total confirmed cases have also increased significantly in just one month, to 8676 up from 6011, which represented infections from the previous nine months or so. Similarly, test positivity rate has since soared to 3.3 per cent up from 0.5 per cent, with active cases also shooting up, by nearly fivefold, from 365 as of December 3, 2020 to 1823 as of January 3, 2021. And, with families traditionally coming together to celebrate end-of-year and New Year festivities, there is every likelihood that the cases will continue to rise at least over the next few days – which threatens to further stretch the public health system. The situation might even get worse once millions of students finally resume physical classes, especially since most of these youngsters in lower primary classes are day scholars. This, coupled with other pandemic-related developments such as the emergence of more contagious variants in several countries, calls for heightened vigilance at the national, community and individual levels. We are seeing the worst spike in coronavirus cases since the virus first reached in Rwanda in March last year and things are only likely to get worse before they get better. Yet, it is clear that we have no choice but to co-exist with the deadly pandemic – as returning to total lockdown and other tough restrictions seem unsustainable. But, as we’ve already seen, Covid-19 is not just another overhyped virus and therefore we cannot afford to throw caution to the wind. Yes, we must not let fear and panic get the better of us, but again only fools can be complacent in the face of this unforgiving and deadly virus. As such, we are all called upon to remain steadfast in the fight against this pandemic by observing preventive guidelines such as regularly and thoroughly washing our hands with soap or sanitising, avoiding crowded places and always observing at least one metre from others, and properly masking up in public. If we all remain responsible and cautious we will win the battle sooner rather than later.
