Rwanda Is Using Robots to Screen COVID-19 Patients

Rwanda will be using robots to aid in the fight against COVID-19, the country's Health Ministry announced the development on Wednesday.

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 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."

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.

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 robots and drones among other high-tech initiatives to enhance efficiency in the fight," ICT and Innovation Minister Paula Ingabire is quoted as saying.

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