The government of Rwanda has suspended incoming and outgoing flights for a period of 30 days, effective Friday after Coronavirus cases in the country rose to 11 on Wednesday night.
The move seeks to stem the coronavirus spread in the country.
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To further mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak, all arriving and departing commercial flights, including Rwandair, will be halted beginning at midnight on 20 March 2020 for an initial period of 30 days,” the Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Three additional coronavirus cases have been identified, bringing the total confirmed number to 11, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
“To further mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak, all arriving and departing commercial passenger flights including RwandAir will be halted beginning at midnight on March 20 for an initial period of 30 days,” the statement said.
The patients include a 37-year old Indian woman who arrived in Rwanda on March 8 from Mumbai, it said. The woman is wife of a man in the first positive case who had also arrived in Rwanda from Mumbai.
The other two latest patients include a 26-year old Rwandan without recent travel history and his compatriot aged 45 who arrived in the country on Monday from Belgium via Addis Ababa, according to the ministry.
The ministry has called for vigilance, urging the public to continue to observe preventive measures particularly by washing hands regularly, avoiding unnecessary large gatherings, and reporting symptoms by calling a toll-free number.
Meanwhile, a man in northern Rwanda has been arrested after a video was shared on YouTube in which he said that he had a cure for coronavirus.
Marie Michelle Umuhoza, spokesperson for the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, told the BBC that the man, who claimed to be a traditional healer, had been taken into custody on Tuesday.
She said the police would not tolerate the spreading of rumours about the pandemic. The video can no longer be viewed by the public.
There is currently no vaccine to protect people against Covid-19 or a cure for patients who have contracted the disease.
