As the COVID-19 outbreak sweeps across the continent, the rush to contain it has reached an emergency level as the WHO warns it could become a pandemic though there was still time to mitigate it. Though Rwanda and many African countries are yet to be visited upon by the virus, back home preparations seem to have reached top gear. The government has intensified awareness campaigns, huge gatherings have been discouraged which has seen the last-minute cancellation of two popular concerts which did not seem to get unanimous support from a disappointed public. But from a sober point of view, public safety mattered more at the end of the day. However, preparation goes beyond just prevention, it also has do deal with the consequences caused by the virus. Regarding tourism, the government has relaxed conditions for cancellations of bookings keeping the offer open up to two years. But most importantly, it has tightened health controls at points of entry which are usually the hotspots for the introduction of the disease. The biggest casualty apart from entertainment is the bi-monthly popular mass exercise that takes place on Car-Free Day- it will be done individually. Public transport has also not been forgotten and perhaps the biggest step taken by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) is the installation of the mobile foot-operated hand washing bays for anyone travelling by public transport. However, that should be considered as a half measure because COVID-19 is transmitted through close proximity and breathe. These are extraordinary times and transport operators should expect losses because they will have to stop packing people like sardines and make facial masks available for their passengers.
