Rwanda on Monday, June 21, registered the highest daily Covid-19 cases since the pandemic was first reported in the country over 15 months ago, after 622 people tested positive within just 24 hours, according to data from the Ministry of Health. Also, the Covid-19 positivity rate of 11.6 percent was the highest recorded in Rwanda after the 622 cases were identified from 5,342 tests that were conducted on Monday. No recovery was reported on the same day. The City of Kigali accounted for the biggest share - 49 percent or 305 cases – of the total tally in the country. The Covid-19 situation also includes that six people died of this infectious respiratory disease. The available data suggest that half of the victims were relatively younger people aged below 40. Also, 13 patients were reported to be in critical condition. Overall, as of Monday, 31,435 people had contracted Covid-19 since the first case was reported in Rwanda in March 2020. Of these, 26,704 — or 84.9 percent have recovered, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health. This means there were 4,343 active cases in the country. So far, the reported death toll from Covid-19 stands at 388, or representing 1.2 percent of the total cases in Rwanda. Meanwhile, over 390,000 people -- or over 3.2 percent of the Rwandan population estimated at 12 million -- had been vaccinated against Covid-19 as of June 21. The escalating Covid-19 situation in Rwanda pushed the Cabinet, on June 21, to impose stringent measures meant to curb the spread of the pandemic. The measures include travel restriction between the City of Kigali and the provinces as well as inter-district travel ban, as well as all social gatherings including celebrations of various kinds in both public and private settings. These new measures will last for two weeks after which, depending on the epidemiological assessment, a new directive will be issued.
