Kigali - Rwanda has deployed five hi-tech robots for use at
hospitals to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus in the
small East African nation.
The robots, which are outfitted with speech recognition technology,
can perform various tasks, including temperature screening,
delivering food and medication to patients, capturing data and
detecting if people don't wear masks.
"These robots will reduce the risk of exposure to Covid-19 among
health workers and facilitate the transition from paper-based patient
files to digital records," Sabin Nsanzimana, director general of the
Rwanda Biomedical Center, told dpa on Wednesday.
The robots, which cost 3,300 dollars each, have been designed by
Belgian robotics company Zora Bots and been purchased by Rwanda's
health ministry with support of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
Rwanda, known to be at the forefront of technological innovation in
Africa, has only recorded 320 cases of Covid-19 so far and no deaths, according to
the Africa Centres for Disease Control.