Editorial: COVID-19 has opened many people’s eyes
Thursday, April 02, 2020

The COVID-19 lockdown has been extended by another two weeks and judging by the situation at the moment, the state of affairs will remain the same for some time.

With 84 people confirmed to have contracted the virus, Rwanda should not count itself lucky but rather thank the early preparations to counter the scourge despite its limited resources.

Special mention goes to the emergency services, especially the health workers who have been very diligent in dealing with a very new threat. Their response has helped save the lives of many and for that Rwandans should be grateful.

However, the COVID-19 lockout has made people look at life in a different light; it has made people appreciate the little things they only saw in passing, but most important of all, bureaucracy has been shoved into the bottom drawer.

There is no one was of doing things but there are always options only that old habits die hard, but it is liberating to break the norm.

The work-at-home policy seems to be working well and people have adopted technology to ease their work. One of the internet service providers even revealed that internet traffic had spiked in neighbourhoods though nothing was said about easing accessibility in terms of reduced charges and better network coverage.

With all schools closed for an indefinite time, it is good to hear that the Ministry of Education in partnership with UNESCO are designing lessons to be broadcast and aired to TV for students to keep up with their lessons.

The e-Learning project was already in the works although its rollout has not been as fast as could be desired. Now, this COVID-19 situation should be taken as a call to speed up the project.