Over the past two weeks, the trend of statistics of daily updates from the Ministry of Health indicates that the infectious rate of Covid-19 has lessened compared to when the Omicron variant first hit Rwanda.

The Omicron variant was first recorded in Rwanda on December 15 last year with six cases. Two weeks later, the country recorded its highest number of daily Covid-19 cases totalling 2,083 positive tests.

From January 5 to 19, the number of new positive cases eased, varying from 600 to 900 a day, and currently, they hover between 300 and slightly above 500.

At the highest peak of the variant in Rwanda, the positivity rate was 9.1 per cent while as of January 19, it was 4.4 per cent, on January 15, and the positivity rate went as low as 1.9 per cent.

According to the ministry of health, the concern rises when the positivity rate is 5 per cent and above.

Within that same period, the ministry has recorded single-digit hospitalised cases and deaths. With fewer people in critical condition, health officials are confident that the situation is under control. 

In a recent press briefing, the Minister of State in Charge of Primary Healthcare, Lt. Col. Dr. Tharcisse Mpunga, said that the country has enough space, oxygen, and other equipment to take care of hospitalised people at the Kanyinya health facility.

The Omicron variant remains the most transmissible variant of Covid-19 the world has faced so far but different measures put in place by the government have helped curb its pace of circulation.

On January 16, Rwanda Biomedical Centre started a mass exercise of vaccinating1.8 million people within two weeks and mass testing drive in different sites across Kigali city to evaluate the current situation.

As of January 19, the country had inoculated 8,042,189 people with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine and 6,545,922 people with the second one while 699,066 had received the booster dose.

And out of 12,585 tests conducted on the same date, 552 turned out positive, five were hospitalised while four died.

The government continues to encourage unvaccinated people to get vaccinated as they are prone to be hit by the virus with severity and have high chances of transmitting it to others.