RwandAir temporarily suspends flights to and from Guangzhou, China

The National carrier RwandAir has announced that they have temporarily suspended flights with immediate effect between the Rwandan capital, Kigali, and the Chinese city of Guangzhou. 

"The decision will be reviewed later in February," a statement from Rwandair reads in part. 

The suspension of Kigali-Guangzhou flights follows the declaration of the coronavirus outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation. 

Affected passengers will be re-routed, refunded or allowed to change their tickets to a later date, Rwandair stated. 

"Flights from Kigali to Mumbai will continue as per schedule," according to the statement. 

Meanwhile, the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority is in the process of notifying other airlines entering Rwanda that any passengers on board their aircraft, who have travelled from China, will upon arrival be screened for potential exposure to novel coronavirus, and may be quarantined for two weeks for observation and case management.

To date, there are no single suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus in Rwanda, According to Rwanda Biomedical Centre. 

Rwanda is work closely with the World Health Organization to implement necessary preparedness activities and to continue strengthening surveillance measures, RBC said in a statement 

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). On 7 January, a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans was discovered in China, known as coronavirus, which encompasses a family of viruses such as the common cold, SARS, and MER. The virus was originally reported from a seafood and animal market in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. The new virus was named 2019-nCoV, novel coronavirus.

Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people, and common species include camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Detailed investigations, however, found that animal coronaviruses can infect people and spread between people, as in the case of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV.

In regards to 2019-nCoV, there are a growing number of cases in patients who had not been exposed to animal markets, causing belief that the infection can spread from person-to-person. While the epidemiology remains largely unknown, it is advised to take precaution to protect yourself from getting sick and to seek immediate medical attention if you are sick and have recently traveled to an affected area.

As of 29 January 2020, cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Wuhan City, other areas in China, and internationally.