Rwanda Is Now Using Covid-19 Robots To Screen Covid-19 Patients

The African country of Rwanda, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, has set a pace in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The launch of five Covid-19 Robots to combat the pandemic. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the health ministry.

Five anti-epidemic robots, which were each given Rwandan names: Akazuba, Ikirezi, Mwiza, Ngabo, and Urumuri;  have been equipped with screening capabilities, and will help administer temperature checks, monitor patient status, and keep medical records.

According to tweets from the Ministry of Health’s page; the Covid-19 robots have the ability “to screen 50 to 150 people per minute, deliver food and medication to patient rooms, capture data and notify officers on duty about detected abnormalities.”

Additionally, Rwanda is the country considered to be at the forefront of technological advancement on the continent; and this has apparently extended to the public health realm during the pandemic. “The infectious nature of COVID-19 calls for technological innovations to tackle the pandemic. This is why Rwanda has introduced Covid-19 robots and drones among other high-tech initiatives to enhance efficiency in the fight,”; ICT and Innovation Minister Paula Ingabire isquoted as saying.

However, Health Minister Daniel Ngamije told BBC Africa, that; the country is working on getting more robots that can perform other tasks such as disinfecting public spaces.

The robots are manufactured by a Belgium-based company and also have the capability to alert health workers of abnormalities and warn people who aren’t wearing marks, or are wearing them improperly, reports BBC Africa.

Currently, Rwanda has recorded just under 300 cases with 203 recoveries and zero deaths according to official reports.