To illustrate just how serious COVID-19, the Hofbräuhaus is closing at the height of the pandemic. It is the world’s most famous beer garden based in Munich, Germany originally built in the 16th century but only began admitting the public in 1828. It is the first time it is closing its doors and not even the First or Second World Wars could make it stop serving its 1,300 capacity clientele. That just goes to show how the coronavirus has the capacity to change history. Nearly every sector has been affected, especially the airline industry which has been the main source of spreading the virus. All but two of the 11 COVID-19 patients in Rwanda flew in from various countries carrying the virus. So it makes sense that Rwanda has suspended all inbound and outbound commercial passenger flights for the time being. Yes, it will come with a hefty price tag, especially for the national carrier, RwandAir, which will see all its planes grounded for the duration of the self-imposed quarantine. One thing is for sure; the virus has brought out the best in people, their resolve and resourcefulness. With all schools closed and the need to avoid gatherings, Rwanda Public Library has come up with the noble ideal of opening its digital archives to the public for free and churches are streaming their services live. To ease the pressure on the population due to COVID-19’s effect on financial flows, the Central Bank has introduced mitigating measures in the financial services, the most popular of which will be the scrapping of service charges by the two mobile telephone operators on all mobile money transactions. Well, at least the virus is not only a bearer of bad news, but it has also pushed humans to think out of the box for solutions.
