Universities urged to take measures to combat coronavirus

Rwanda's Ministry of Education on Wednesday issued a statement urging all universities and higher education institutions to enhance awareness and take precautionary measures to prevent a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country.

According to a statement signed by Minister of Education Dr Valentine Uwamariya, universities and higher learning institutions should raise awareness in efforts to prevent and contain the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

There has been no recorded case of the coronavirus in the country thus far, although neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo declared its first case in the capital, Kinshasa, on Tuesday.

“All the universities and higher learning institutions should raise awareness on prevention and containment of the coronavirus outbreak for students, lecturers and other staff members,” the statement seen by University World News reads.

“Universities and higher learning institutions should establish enhanced handwashing services and improve hygiene by setting up necessary equipment that should be used before entering classes, restaurants, entertainment facilities and in hostels,” it said.

The minister also called for universities and higher learning institutions to withhold public assemblies and issue the announcements in classrooms.

It advised anyone with symptoms such as a cough, flu and fever and who might have been in contact with people from countries that have the outbreak to seek treatment.

“For day students with similar symptoms and who might have been in contact with people who came from countries with coronavirus should be rushed to hospital and be quarantined to avoid possible spread of the outbreak,” warns the statement.

The Ministry of Education also urged universities to ensure close collaboration with the ministries of education and health and to share information in cases where students or staff members have symptoms suspected to be related to the coronavirus, according to the statement.

Rwanda has stepped up its preparedness for the novel coronavirus by setting up a test facility at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre's national referral laboratory in Kigali. The laboratory can provide results of suspected cases of coronavirus infection within three hours.

Handwashing stations and sanitisers have been installed in places such as hotels, bus stations and entertainment facilities, among others.

This follows guidelines issued by Prime Minister Dr Édouard Ngirente early last week, urging all citizens to refrain from handshakes and close bodily contact to avoid possible contamination.

The country has already stopped public gatherings for entertainment and exhibitions and has called for caution where gatherings are still authorised.

According to Dr Charles Murigande, the deputy vice-chancellor in charge of institutional advancement at the University of Rwanda, who doubles as the university’s spokesperson, the university has started awareness campaigns and has made available sanitisers on all of the nine campuses.

“We are training our staff and especially those in charge of students’ welfare. We also plan to train guild councils from all campuses on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. We want to maximise awareness and ensure that everyone is aware of it, including students,” he said.

He said such efforts are needed because dealing with the virus requires robust efforts, as even countries that are rich and endowed with advanced health systems are finding it hard to contain the outbreak.