The dusk-to-dawn curfew and other measures the state put in place to contain the spread ofCovid-19 could soon be lifted if President Uhuru Kenyatta’s plan to reopen the country is put in place.
The President’s directive to committees mandated to oversee aspects of the pandemic response began meetings on Sunday to come up with proper plans to reopen economic and some social sectors.
Reopening the country was a key agenda of the National Emergency Response to Covid-19 Committee meeting although details of the meeting still remain scanty.
The committee is chaired by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and is assisted by several Cabinet secretaries who are members of the committee but the overall response team is led by Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i.
The two committees will present their plans to the President one week before the June 6 when containment measures will expire.
President Kenyatta spoke to the nation on saturday and cited global trends where countries are now relaxing the Covid-19 measures and gradually unlocking.
But the president did not miss to point that personal discipline in following the outlined safety measures would still be required to reduce infections.
“We will not continue with the lockdown and the curfew. I have told health officials and my ministers that they should start telling Kenyans we cannot be under a curfew or lockdown forever,” Kenyatta said.
KB sources privy to the State House operations revealed that he was encouraged by the country’s low death rate and the high numbers of infected people who do not have any symptoms.
“At the moment, our case fatality rate might seem high at about four per cent, but if we were to test more people, this ratio will come down,” said the anonymous source.
Transport minister James Macharia on sunday said that his docket is keen on aviation sector’s reopening saying that it is a priority and Kenya Airways should be up in the skies again.
“We are reviewing how this sector can reopen while at the same time complying with the fundamental health protocols in place,” Macharia said.
Macharia said that Madaraka Express train will also resume it’s start operatis once the restrictions on travel from Mombasa and Nairobi are lifted.
While on the matatu sector, the CS said that the safety measures, including social distance and use of sanitisers, will remain in force.
The government is walking a tight rope as it ponders to open the economy with an indisciplined population because there concerns are still there that cases will shoot and a new spike in infections may extend the ‘stay’ of the virus.
The plan-to-reopen comes when the country’s number of infections are increasing as the government expands mass target testing to different populations.
Mr Kagwe gave examples of countries such as China and Italy that are now up and running because the people are disciplined enough to adhere to the laid measures.
