Economic recovery to delay as Delta wave sweeps the country
Tuesday August 03 2021
Rwanda received a consignment of Covid-19 vaccine to boost the fight against the deadly virus. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA
Uncertainties surrounding the third wave and mutation of the coronavirus have emerged as a fresh threat to possible economic recovery as restrictions that constrain business activities may not end soon.
Economists at the World Bank say the current delays Rwanda is experiencing in vaccinating its population will negatively impact recovery of the economy as the government insists that it will only reopen the economy after infections have significantly dropped.
Current figures suggest the country could miss the target of vaccinating 30 percent of the population by the end of 2021 as so far only 432,003 persons representing less than 3 percent of the population were fully vaccinated while 3,020 received at least one dose of the vaccine as of July 27.a “If delays in obtaining vaccines continue, Rwanda will struggle to reach hard immunity before the end of 2023, leaving the country exposed to new, more strains of the virus, and raising the prospect that Covid-19 crisis will become a permanent, endemic problem in the country,” the World Bank highlighted in its latest economic update report for Rwanda released recently.
The Rwandan economy is projected to expand by at least 5.1 percent this year. The country is still struggling to access sufficient vaccines to inoculate at least 60 percent of the population by the end of 2022, a target it set to enable it to reach herd immunity that is required to fully reopen the economy.
Faced with a recent spike in infections and new virus strains, the government maintains that protecting lives is its priority. “The presence of Delta explains why we experienced a sudden spike in infection number around June to beyond the total numbers we had for three months of the second wave last year. It is highly contagious and weakens the body so fast, hence higher death incidences,” said health minister Daniel Ngamije in his latest update.
“People need to be patient as we wait for vaccine deliveries. We cannot take the risk of reopening for the sake of economic activities to let the virus overwhelm the capacity of our health systems like we saw in some countries,” he said. According to the Ministry of Health, only more stringent virus control measures can bring infection rates under manageable levels to avert a potential crisis.
Despite ongoing vaccinations, the country started recording one of its highest rise in daily infections and deaths since June prompting imposition of more stringent control measures including a total lockdown of Kigali and eight Districts of the country.