Rwandan Health Minister Daniel Ngamije has said the health ministry plans to deploy robots in COVID-19 treatment centers and other public places.

The five imported robots that have been given Rwandan names will serve as an interface between the doctor and the patient, thereby reducing human contacts and risks of the virus' transmission, the minister said in a news program of national Radio Rwanda.

Besides being applied in the treatment centers, the robots will also be used to measure temperatures in other public places such as bus stops and entrances of shopping arcades, he said.

Some of the robots have already been in Rwanda and will be programmed and deployed first, he added.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the central African country has deployed drones to raise public awareness about the disease.

As of Friday evening, Rwanda has registered 273 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 136 recoveries, according to the country's health ministry.