Rwanda’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 17 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19). This brings their total number of coronavirus cases to 36, the highest in East Africa.
In a statement released Monday, March 23, 2020, the Rwandan Ministry of Health confirmed that the patients travelled from different parts of the world. These include; nine from Dubai, three from Kenya, two from the U.S., one from Qatar and another from India.
According to the Ministry, they have all been isolated as persons who came into contact with them are being traced.
On Saturday, the government of Rwanda declared a countrywide lockdown where only essential services are allowed to operate and the country’s borders have been closed to passenger traffic.
Other measures include a temporary ban on non-essential travel between different cities and districts across the country, while all employees both in the public and private sectors will work from home.