The Ministry of Health has launched a new Covid-19 treatment facility with a capacity of admitting over 136 patients in its Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Opened at the just-completed Nyarugenge District Hospital in Kigali, the facility is expected to considerably improve Covid-19 case management – according to a statement from Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC).

"We opened the main Covid-19 treatment center at the just-completed Nyarugenge Hospital. The facility is expected to considerably improve Covid-19 case management. It offers the highest standard of oxygen therapy and its ICU capacity can admit 136 patients,” read a statement by RBC.

ICU services are needed to deal with complex cases of Covid-19, where patients may need breathing support.

According to RBC, in early January, there were 36 Covid-19 patients in intensive care, who needed oxygen.

RBC says efforts of setting up other Covid-19 ICU treatment centers in all provinces are ongoing.

Currently, Rwanda uses both institutional and home-based management of Covid-19 cases.

According to RBC, home-based care (HBC) is for patients who are asymptomatic and those with mild symptoms. They should also not be above 65 years of age.

For a patient to qualify for HBC, the suitability of their home environment is considered.

Among others, such a home should not have people whose health is at more risk due to the pandemic, for example, those above 65 years of age; or people with diseases like chronic heart, lung, or kidney conditions.

It must also have adequate toilets and bathroom facilities on the premises or in the compound, and a separate well-ventilated bedroom or isolation space where the patient can recover without sharing immediate space with others. 

Rwanda’s Covid-19 situation has been an issue of concern to the government in recent weeks, specifically during the month of December 2020 which was the month during which fatalities of Covid-19 were registered.

As of Thursday, December January 7, Rwanda had a total of 9225 confirmed cases of Covid-19. Of these, 6940 have recovered; while 2172 are active cases.

113 people have died of the virus, representing a 1.2 percent fatality rate. 

Meanwhile, the government has also been making efforts to improve citizens’ access to testing services. Here, the Ministry of Health cleared 42 private clinics to start testing people, using antigen rapid tests.

In these clinics, the cost of a single test should not go above Rwf10,000.