Crocodile kills Rwandan man who breached lockdown order

A Rwandan man breached government’s instruction to stay at home during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown to go fishing and has been killed and eaten by a crocodile.

Alice Kayitesi, the mayor of the southern Kamonyi district, confirmed the tragic incident which occurred in the Nyabarongo river on Wednesday. The victim’s name and age have not been made public yet.

“He had broken the stay-home rule, he’s among very few people here who are not cooperating with the lockdown to stop the coronavirus,” Ms Kayitesi  told the BBC.

In a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the country of over 12 million people were asked to be indoors under a stay-at-home order since Sunday. Rwanda has recorded about 40 cases so far and this directive was enforced to keep the citizens safe.

The East African nation has the highest number of cases in that region even though no deaths have been recorded yet. All those in the medical facilities are reported to be stable and are in isolation from other patients who do not have the virus, according to the Rwandan health ministry.

Rwanda’s prime minister issued a statement outlining some of the new measures taken to restrict movements. The statement said “Unnecessary movements and visits outside the home are not permitted excerpt for essential services such as health care, shopping or banking and for personnel performing such services.

“Borders are closed excerpt for goods and cargos as well as returning Rwandan Citizens and legal residents.”

All travels within cities have been banned except for very important services while shops and markets have also been closed under the two-week lockdown. However, all cargo and returning citizens will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine.

“Observing the global trend of the COVID-19 & considering the experiences of other countries, there is a clear need for additional steps to ensure that COVID-19 does not spread further in Rwanda.

“The cooperation of Rwandans and residents is greatly appreciated, as are the efforts of those working hard in the health sector,” Rwanda’s health authorities added  in the statement on Tuesday.

The government has vouched to lend its support to the people having a hard time securing food during the lockdown.

Africa has over 2,000 known cases across 43 countries and 64 deaths recorded so far. South Africa has recorded more than 600 cases, followed by Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Burkina Faso and Senegal, according to the World Health Organization’s latest figures.