Rusumo Border Vs. COVID19 Prevention: Citizens raise concerns on possible violation of COVID 19 Prevention measures among clearing agents

Citizens who live near the Rusumo Border which is between Rwanda and Tanzania have raised their concerns about possible violation of COVID 19 prevention measures which was put in place by the Government of Rwanda after recording higher positive COVID 19 cases among truck drivers using the border.

Speaking to  border residents, TOPAFRICANEWS reporter  was told that  Clearing agents are likely to violate Self isolation rules which can risk new contamination of COVID-19

Rusumo border is one of the borders that record a big number of imported goods in Rwanda.

However, the border has also recorded numerous COVID-19 cases confirmed from some truck drivers who were from Tanzania.

Following the rising number of COVID 19 at Rusumo Border, the government of Rwanda immediately took tough measures in order to avoid the spread of the Pandemic among local population.

Among these measures, there is one which requires everyone operating at the border to keep working but with conditions to live in quarantine until the pandemic is under control with zero new infections.

Though it is the case, people who live around the border say that they always see some clearing agents who are supposed to stay isolated leaving the border freely and go outside for their personal deals to the extent that they can even go to Nyakarambi (around 25km from the border) while it is not allowed in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

“Quarantine is only here in words of the mouth. They are not fully implementing the measures the way it should be. There are many clearing agents who get out and move freely outside the border.” A lady who spoke on condition of anonymity told TOPAFRICANEWS reporter on Thursday.

“We are very fearful because we are told that we are not allowed to enter the border compound, but we see those agents coming freely in the community and they are the ones who meet those drivers (from Tanzania), so there is a risk of taking the virus in the community as the quarantine measures are not well respected.” She added.

Not only citizens raising these claims but also some clearing agents who were not able to join the quarantine due to what they call high cost of quarantine and currently they are not working.

For them, they wonder what this quarantine stands for if those, who should be locked up in quarantine due to the nature of their work at the border, are going outside freely to meet their families around or far from the border.

“For us who didn’t pay the quarantine fees we are not allowed to enter the border. But we always see those in quarantine leaving the border; we meet each other outside and we wonder why for us we are not allowed to enter the border but for them are allowed to get out of it. It’s not clear.” Says a clearing agent from Rusumo border but currently is not at work due to lack of staying fees.

TOPAFRICANEWS contacted various authorities on these concerns among them include Mayor of Kirehe district, Rusumo border manager and clearing agents’ representatives; all of them denounced such allegations saying that it is not true as it is not allowed for any agent in quarantine to leave the border and come back freely.

Speaking to TOPAFRICANEWS during a telephone interview, Mr. Bukuru Clement, the chairman of Rwanda Freight Forwaders Association (RWAFFA), said that those who are saying that may be somehow confused about where these quarantined agents live because they are not sleeping inside the border.

He said: “There is no accommodation inside the border. All quarantined agents do their job and go back to their accommodations which are outside the border. We cannot let them go in the community because their task exposes them in a risk of getting contaminated, and that is the reason why they are accommodated in one place with shared transport in order to easily facilitate daily tracing of the pandemic.”

Three days are gone without hearing any new case of COVID-19 confirmed from Rusumo border but prevention measures are going on all over the country where people are asked to wear face masks, frequent hand wash and keep distance from one another.