The Central African Republic has commended Rwandas recent effort to combat the new coronavirus pandemic, following a screening for the virus conducted by the latter on peacekeepers, and later extended to residents. According to a press statement issued Saturday by the CAR Ministry of Health and Population, the country last week reported its 9th confirmed case of the virus, fourth in local contaminations. The statement adds that the case was tested and confirmed on April 2 by the Rwandan medical team delegated by Rwanda Biomedical Centre. Earlier in the week, a RwandAir plane carrying loads of medical supplies landed at Bangui-Mpoko International Airport. The provisions were made by the Rwanda Defence Force and the government to Rwandan peacekeepers deployed in the country under MINUSCA - the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. Upon arrival in Bangui, the medical delegation headed by Col. Jean-Paul Bitega, set up a COVID-19 screening facility and a field clinic set up. Military and police peacekeepers were screened, an exercise that was later extended to Bangui residents among whom a local case was confirmed. Besides military peacekeepers, Rwanda maintains three contingents of police peacekeepers in the country, which are rotated on a yearly basis since 2014.
