The Council of Governors on Friday, December 4, presented President Uhuru Kenyatta with a proposal urging him to lockdown the country during the Christmas festivities.
The governors met the president after he had commissioned the construction of the G47 Ugatuzi Tower in Hurlingham.
They argued that there was a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitals in the village were struggling to deal with the infections.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya at Kenya School of Government (KSG) for a consultative meeting on February 20, 2020
“Many people are traveling to their villages. Those who are Covid-19 asymptomatic will infect more people, especially the elderly. This could wipe out families and villages. If hospitals in towns are not well equipped, imagine those in villages,” a source privy to the matter told the Nation.
The president is, however, waiting for proposals that will be laid out by the National Emergency Response Committee (NERC), which will meet on Monday to discuss the measures.
Interior PS Karanja Kibicho also recently intimated that his belief was that the country should be locked down during the festive season to prevent the spread of the disease in rural areas.
Already, the government has placed measures to curb the spread of the virus in bars during the festivities.
The Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade, and Enterprise Development CS Betty Maina indicated that the Bar and Alcohol Trade Associations had been tasked to form a “Bar Kumi” initiative.
The initiative would help monitor whether businesses selling alcoholic drinks were adhering to the set guidelines.
“Those looking for a colorful festive period should understand the difficult period the entire world is facing and shelve their plans for another time,” she warned.
“Governments, media, businesses, and the public should redouble their efforts to promote safety precautions because there will be a natural tendency towards complacency.”
As of Friday, 87,249 individuals had tested positive for the virus. Of this 68,110 had recovered while 1,506 had passed on.
In his speech in early November, the president stated that the Covid-19 positivity rate had shot up from 4% in September when the country was re-opened, to an average of 16% in October.
The cases in November have also been on the rise, with the country recording thousands of cases a day and deaths in double digits.
Industrialization and Trade CS Betty Maina.
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