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Rwanda has expressed its displeasure with the UK after London banned travelers from the East African country, citing the need to stop the spread of mutant strains of Covid-19.
On Thursday, the British Transport Minister announced that his country had added Rwanda, Burundi and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its coronavirus travel ban list as of Friday, January 29.
“This means that people who have been or have passed through these countries will be refused entry, with the exception of UK, Irish and third country nationals with the right of residence who must self-isolate for ten days at home, ”Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter.
In its statement pushing back the ban, Kigali argued that its efforts to control the pandemic have been open and consistent.
“Rwanda’s overall response to Covid-19, including testing, surveillance, contact tracing, containment, treatment and notification, has been consistent, transparent and corroborated by third-party entities,” reads part in the press release.
Authorities recently placed the capital Kigali under a 15-day lockdown after an increase in cases.
“Rwanda is one of the few countries to require a Covid-19 PCR test for all departing passengers and all those in transit,” he added.
Kigali’s national airline, RwandAir, has been operating flights to London Heathrow three times a week since last October.
Australia’s think tank Lowy Institute last week ranked Rwanda first in Africa and sixth globally in handling the Covid-19 pandemic.
The study ranked a total of 98 countries around the world rating their level in terms of average performance in dealing with the pandemic in the 36 weeks that they recorded their 100th case of coronavirus.
The country has recorded 15,304 cases and 199 deaths since the confirmation of its index case last March.
The UK, by contrast, has recorded 3,820,000 cases and more than 100,000 deaths.
Burundi, which has been accused in the past of not taking the pandemic seriously, has reported just over 1,000 cases.
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