The announcement published by MINISANTE on March 23rd, 2020 states the 17 newly infected patients add on 19 prior patients identified since March 14th when patient zero was identified.

MINISANTE stated that the 17 newly infected patients are:

1. 9 travelers from Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2. 3 travelers from Kenya
3. 2 travelers from the U.S
4. 1 traveler from Qatar
5. 1 traveler from India
6. 1 contact of a previously confirmed case of coronavirus

The ministry of health announced that all the 17 patients entered isolation between March 17th-20th, 2020 and were isolated.

Dr. Daniel Ngamije, Ministry of Health recently announced that 17 patients who were identified last week had contact with 680 individuals in Rwanda. All of them have been tracked and tests were conducted to counter further spread.

With the increase in the number of coronavirus patients, more preventive measures have been adopted including a complete air travel ban and mandatory quarantine for all Rwandans except those who provide essential services.

The ministry of health advised for heightened vigilance and cooperation from Rwandans and abiding by certain regulations to stop the spread of coronavirus. All non-essential businesses are closed, travel between cities and districts is prohibited as well as non-essential movements from home.

In addition, Rwandans are recommended to practice social distancing and quarantine for 14 days renewable.

The World Health Organization(WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11th, 2020 following the increasingly big number of patients since it was identified in Wuhan, China.

Up to 378,000 patients have tested positive for coronavirus, 16,000 died from it while 101,600 recovered from the virus.

The ministry of health advises Rwandans to keep observing preventive measures to counter further spread of the virus and to call the toll-free number 114, send an email on [email protected], or a WhatsApp message on +25088202080 to report any symptoms.

COVID-19 spreads through direct contact with the infected person, sneezing and coughing. To prevent the spread of the virus, regular hand washing with alcohol-based hand sanitizers or clean water and soap is advised, covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and avoiding large gatherings. In addition, it is important to avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.