Today, Tuesday, July 20, marks Day IV of the 10-day Covid-19 lockdown in the City of Kigali and eight districts in other parts of the country. The decision to impose the stay-at-home orders in the capital as well as Burera, Gicumbi, Kamonyi, Musanze, Nyagatare, Rubavu, Rutsiro and Rwamagana districts is one of the latest measures devised to help contain the third wave of the virus in the country. Experience from previous lockdowns shows that the Covid curve has often flattened both in terms of new cases and deaths, only to rise sharply later thanks largely to complacency. To better ascertain the scale of the community transmissions, health authorities have commendably quickly rolled out a grassroots testing campaign, with over 124,000 people tested on Saturday and Sunday alone. While a total of 4,770 new positive cases were recorded over the two days, the test positivity rate fell significantly from 11.4 per cent on Friday, July 17, to 3.7 per cent on Sunday. But the week closed with the country recording double-digit confirmed Covid deaths in three straight days, with single-digit deaths occurring only in two days during the week. Critical cases also remained relatively high, still above 70 by Sunday. According to officials, any household that registered a positive case during the mass testing exercise was to have all their members tested for the virus. The idea is to understand the scale of the virus transmission which would help inform the next course of action. Like the lockdown itself, the testing exercise is vitally important as it will leave us in a better place in terms of comprehending the extent of the third wave, including areas with more cases; ensuring that those who are found positive self-isolate and/or seek medical attention on time; and possibly understand the most prevalent variant. It is critical that every member of the community takes this exercise seriously and whoever is called upon to turn up for testing does so immediately. Also, everyone in the areas under lockdown and other parts of the country should observe respective guidelines to help the country contain the situation, thus avoid overstretching the healthcare system and save lives. We are all in this together and only collaboration and compliance with guidelines will see us through.
