Rwanda introduces quarantine for travelers from Uganda, India

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Travelers arriving from India and Uganda or those who have traveled there in the last seven days will be required upon arriving in Rwanda to complete a mandatory seven-day quarantine, the Health Ministry said Wednesday in its updated rules which came into force Tuesday.

The ministry encouraged airlines to check whether passengers have booked seven days in its designated hotels before boarding.

Meanwhile the government has announced tighter measures in four districts neighboring the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda to limit the spread of the virus following a recent surge in new cases.

The surge has been attributed to the recent influx of refugees from DR Congo following the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo.

As of Tuesday, Rwanda had registered an accumulated tally of 28,912 coronavirus cases, 26,383 recoveries and 372 deaths.

Health officials are urging the public to adhere to preventive measures and avoid complacency.

We must all play our part as individuals to reduce the growing new infection rate by adhering to preventive measures, Tharcisse Mpunga, the minister of state in the Ministry of Health in charge of primary healthcare, told journalists.

In the last two weeks, COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations have increased sharply, with some treatment centers that had been closed four months ago being reopened because of fresh infections, according to health officials.

In March, the East African country launched a vaccination campaign for citizens starting with front-line workers and other priority groups such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.

The Health Ministry hopes to have fully vaccinated 5% of the population by the end of June.

Any events taking place in hotels and public places currently must not exceed 30% of the venue’s capacity and all participants are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours.

The Health Ministry has announced plans to expand rapid testing services for COVID-19 to major hotels as part of efforts to ease access and limit the spread of the virus.