Coronavirus in Rwanda: chatting with Belise Kariza
21.07.2023 - 08:07
/ roughguides.com
Rwanda is a strikingly beautiful country in Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Mention Rwanda and many people around the world still think back to the horrific events of the 1994 genocide, but more than 25 years on, travel has opened up to this safe and glorious land. Rwanda’s jaw-dropping mountainscapes include the volcanic Virungas, one of the last remaining habitats of the mighty mountain gorilla. Despite coping extremely well with Covid-19, Rwanda has faced a unique challenge in protecting its vulnerable gorilla population – as well as its human one. We chatted with Belise Kariza, Chief Tourism Officer at the Rwanda Development Board, to learn more about the country’s experience of coronavirus.
Belise Kariza – Chief Tourism Officer at the Rwanda Development Board
Q: Rwanda responded extremely effectively to Covid-19, with an extensive testing programme keeping deaths to around ten. What has Rwanda’s experience been like and is there a sense of pride in how the population has reacted?
A: Rwanda has a population of 12 million people and since reporting our first Covid-19 case in mid-March, we have recorded 3089 cases and sadly, twelve deaths. Our government was quick to respond to the pandemic and take action, vowing to identify every coronavirus case and implementing stringent lockdown measures. We quickly mobilized community healthcare workers, governmental institutions and college students to work as contact tracers, set up national and regional command posts to track cases and even used robots in our Covid-19 clinics to take patients' temperatures and deliver supplies. Anyone who tests positive is immediately quarantined at a dedicated Covid-19 clinic and any contacts of that case who are deemed at high risk are also quarantined, either at a clinic or at home, until they can be tested.
We are very proud of the Rwandan people who have been extremely patient, supportive and cooperative in response to measures laid out by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, the arm of the Ministry of Health in charge of responding to the pandemic. We understand the importance of these measures and have followed guidelines around social distancing, wearing masks, hand washing, being tested regularly and self-isolating when required.
A baby gorilla inside Virunga National Park © LMspencer/Shutterstock
Q: Rwanda is famous for its wildlife – including its mountain gorillas, who share a staggering 98% of their DNA with humans. This makes them susceptible to contracting human diseases. How has the country protected its gorilla population from coronavirus?
A: The Covid-19 pandemic presents a very real challenge for protecting gorillas as they are so closely related to humans and so it is important for Rwanda to play its part in