A trader, who works at a market closed due to COVID-19, receives a COVID-19 test in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, on Aug. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Cyril Ndegeya)
The Rwandan Ministry of Health is expecting to lower costs of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the country through home-based care for people diagnosed with the virus, a senior health official said.
KIGALI, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan Ministry of Health is expecting to lower costs of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the country through home-based care for people diagnosed with the virus, a senior health official said Friday.
"So far about 900 COVID-19 patients have been treated through home-based care, and 600 have recovered from the virus. The initiative has been effective," Rwandan Minister of Health Daniel Ngamije told journalists at a press conference in the Rwandan capital city Kigali.
"With home-based care there are expenditures which will be avoided such as cost of accommodation at quarantine sites and feeding. These costs were spent on average for a period of 21 days per patient," he said.
Apart from Kigali, only one coronavirus treatment center will be maintained in each of the four provinces, where patients requiring intensive care will be admitted.
Rwanda spent about 73 million U.S. dollars in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the first six month of the pandemic since March, and an additional budget of 11 million dollars had been drawn for a period running up to December 2020, according to him.
Clear guidelines have been laid out to ensure effective home-based care, he said.
The patients eligible for home-based care include those who are asymptomatic and must be below 65 years old without other long lasting health complications. They also must have own bedroom at home, said the minister, adding that there is good progress in containing the increase of new cases since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.
As of Thursday Rwanda had recorded 4,843 confirmed cases with 3,181 recoveries and 29 deaths, according to the health ministry. ■
