The government has announced it will soon reopen Kanyinya and Gatenga Covid-19 treatment centres in Kicukiro and Nyarugenge districts, respectively, in anticipation of a further spike in new infections.

This was announced by Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, the director-general of Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), during a news conference in Kigali on Wednesday, June 16.

The two centres had been closed about three months ago as new confirmed coronavirus cases of coronavirus drastically fell, leaving Nyarugenge District Hospital as the only facility still receiving Covid patients.

But Nsanzimana said the Nyarugenge treatment centre is now half-way full, adding that the recent trends of new infections suggest that more people may soon need to be admitted to hospital.

"We are working on reopening the Kanyinya and Gatenga treatment centres to create more space," he said.

He added: "In just one week, the number of confirmed new Covid-19 cases has risen by 245 per cent, the number of people who have lost their lives has increased by 25%, while those in need of hospital beds continue to rise by the day.”

Four people succumbed to the virus and 11 were in critical condition on Thursday, according to the nightly update from the Ministry of Health.

Vaccinated people ‘contracting the virus’

Speaking during the same briefing, Dr Tharcisse Mpunga, the Minister of State in charge of Public Healthcare, urged Rwandans to continue observing Covid preventive measures.

He said even those who have already been vaccinated need to observe all Covid-19 protocols.

"Some people feel that they no longer have to follow safety guidelines since they have been vaccinated,” he said. "That’s wrong because we have seen some vaccinated people return positive results. Everyone needs to remain on guard.”

Health authorities say 400 people who were vaccinated have tested positive for Covid-19, although none of them became severely ill. The figure represents about 0.1 per cent of those vaccinated in the country.

The fear is that, while the vaccines are working and preventing people from severe illness from the virus, vaccinated people with the virus can easily pass it to others unknowingly especially since they are mostly asymptomatic.

Speaking about the recent spike in new confirmed cases, Mpunga said this was largely due to complacency and warned that everyone needs to continue taking personal safety measures and respect national guidelines.

Of the 5676 tests conducted on Thursday, 263 people returned positive results, reflecting a recent trend.

The minister also spoke about ongoing efforts to acquire more vaccines.

A total of 389,832 people had received at least one jab by Thursday, June 16.