Lack of proper adherence to strict guidelines for people who test positive of Covid-19 and sent back home under home care, could be one of the reasons behind the sharp spike in positive cases in Kigali.

When the government got overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases which picked up since November last year, Ministry of Health decided to start sending the people who test positive but have mild or no symptoms, to go under home care.

Some of the Covid-19 patients sent home have ended up continuing with their normal routines, going to restaurants, shopping, banks, without staying home as required, which has exposed many other people to infections.

Upon getting results that they are Covid-19 positive, many end up hopping from one pharmacy to another, and hospitals to stockpile drugs, ending up exposing health practitioners and other people to the virus.

This has left doctors, nurses as well as other health practitioners in a state of fear of infections, with many faulting Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) for the way it has handled home care, saying sending Covid-19 patients back home just like that without any follow up is exposing health workers and other people to infections.

This is a far cry from how Covid-19 positive patients were handled last year, where they used to be dressed in a moon suit, isolated and taken to a gazetted treatment centre, where they would be treated and taken care of.

Even as they adopted home care last year, a certain assessment could always first be done for instance to ascertain whether the person's home has all it takes to isolate and take care of the patient, but also limiting the chances of infecting others at home, but this is not the case today.

RBC used to first establish if the person lives with some people, how many rooms does the house have, and establish minimum safety protocols for the family to follow in order to take care of the Covid-19 patient, but also keep themselves safe.

Some Covid-19 patients stay alone, which has complicated their care and increased risks of infecting others, since they have to go out and buy things for themselves.

What is clear is that the available government facilities and resources were overwhelmed by the ever-increasing cases of people who have tested positive, and a point came when the available facilities were only prioritized for those that are in a critical condition.

While responding to questions after a cabinet meeting declared the recent lockdown of Kigali on the national TV, the Minister of health Dr Daniel Ngamije, said that those who tested positive and sent home are regularly contacted to find out how they are faring, where those who conditions are deteriorating are taken for specialised care.

However, a Covid-19 patient that Rwanda Today talked to on condition of anonymity, contradicted what the Minister said, sharing that after he was diagnosed with the virus, he was just told to go home and take a concoction of ginger and lemon, rest and quarantine for two weeks.

He said that even when he contacted the RBC number he was given, they didn’t pick for days, a situation he says he shares with other patients who were also sent for home care.

The other flaw is the fact that RBC doesn’t give any guidelines around quantities, ingredients and intervals of the local concoction to take, which has caused secondary infections to some of the Covid-19 patients under home care.

Out of anxiety and fear, some patients have ended up consuming large quantities, while others mixed many other herbal remedies, which have caused other problems.

“When I tested positive fear gripped me, and when they told me I am to take ginger and lemon, I ended adding another herbal remedy that is used for cough, I also ended up consuming a lot, which led a serious stomach infection, I had to go to hospital to treat the infection” said a Covid-19 patient.

The minister said they have added more health facilities like the Nyarugenge hospital, Gatenga, and that they have also increased the number of health personnel to take care of the growing number of patients, as well as other stronger medicines.

He added that they are currently making assessment on patients' vital organs to ascertain those who can be treated with a stronger drug used in the treatment of Covid-19 symptoms for those in critical conditions.