The recent Cabinet meeting declared a 15-day total lockdown for Kigali, in a bid to curtail the resurgent Covid-19 cases that were getting out of hand.

Minister for health said up to 45 percent of the current cases were recorded in the past 50 days, which is unprecedented considering the fact that the first case was recorded in March 2020.

Authorities have pointed the finger at the lax in observing measures in place meant to control the spread of the virus by some members of the population, which is at a larger extent true because towards the end of last year many people violated guidelines.

It is also important to note that there have been some costly gaps on the enforcement, treatment and prevention side of the things, the institutions charged with driving the Covid-19 control agenda slept on the job at a certain extent.

In the first few months of the pandemic, all hands were on deck, multi-stakeholder teams were set up to fast track tracing, testing, prevention and treatment of those found to be positive.

A person who tested positive for the virus was isolated, and monitored to make sure that one, the person is getting the treatment need, and two that the patient does not infect others with the virus.

However, as time went by and with more cases registered, this maximum care waned, it is true that the volume of cases must have overwhelmed the available government systems in place, but it is also true that the handlers also got used to Covid-19 and folded back on some of the lifesaving efforts that were in place.

As cases continued to grow last year, the government came up with the home care approach to managing Covid-19 patients, those that have not yet manifested symptoms or those with mild symptoms would be sent home to isolate as they treat themselves among other remedies, using a concoction of ginger and lemon.

But Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), would first assess the capacity of the patient to be safely isolated at home, finding out how many rooms the house has, who does she or he live with before signing off on home care, but this is no more.

Overwhelmed by cases, health workers now tell people to go back home and start medicating themselves using the ginger and lemon concoction, telling them that if they get worse they should then contact RBC for more specialised treatment.

There is no follow up done on these people, where some have even reported failing to get hold of RBC people on the phone when they call them.

The government ought to reinstate the original protocols of following up on those that test positive and contact tracing, as opposed to living things to chance.

There have been reports of people who test positive and continue going on with their routines, going to shop, dining in restaurants, which is dangerous, people ought to take the responsibility of protecting others by isolating at home and taking the necessary precautions and treatment.