Covid-19: Uhuru extends curfew by 21 days as cases rise to 343

Kenya now has 343 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on Saturday, saying a total of 98 people had recovered and that the death toll remained 14.

Kenya, which reported its first case of Covid-19 on March 13, had 336 confirmed cases and 94 recoveries as of Friday.

President Kenyatta made the announcements in an address to the nation amid the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and Kenya’s efforts to reduce local transmission.

He also announced the extension of nationwide dawn-to-dusk curfew as well as restrictions on movement into and outside counties most affected by coronavirus for a further 21 days.

The extension of the measures come as the number of confirmed cases jumped to 343 after seven more people tested positive.

Tests have been conducted on 17,492 people and out of the numbers that have tested positive, there have been 98 recoveries so far.

Mandera County in north eastern and coastal Kwale County have been added to the list of those where movement into and out are restricted after they recorded coronavirus cases.

“In accordance to the advice of the National Emergency Response Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, the National Security Council has sanctioned…that the cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area and the Counties of Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa that is currently in force be extended for a further containment period of 21 days,” the President said.

“Mandera, Kwale and Mombasa are staring at even enhanced measures if the recent spike in the number of confirmed cases do not change,” he announced.

Meanwhile, the country’s’ security services have been directed to upgrade their alert and response measures in every border area to ensure that porous borders and security threats do not compromise the government’s response to the coronavirus.

After the 21 days of lockdown, and the economic crisis the novel virus is causing, it is a delicate balancing act between relaxing the restrictions on movement and keeping them in place to contain spread of coronavirus.

“We will reopen this economy but it must be in a way that does not endanger many thousands of lives. Some countries had initially succeeded in suppressing the pandemic, only for them to open up without a proper process and suffer a huge spike in infections,” said President Kenyatta.

To start with, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Mutahi Kagwe, is expected to announce protocols that would see the re-opening of a few restaurants and eateries.

Those to re-open will have to show the highest levels of health regulation compliance, and the ability to arrange for employee testing, to undertake minimal operations while maintaining measures that mitigate against the spread of the coronavirus, the president said.

“Any report by the public or authorities that these establishments are not following the measures, will lead to their instant closure and prosecutions,” he added.

President Kenyatta said the measures the government put in place has greatly helped to contain the spread.

“We have been spared the more terrible human cost so far because the government followed the advice of our medical experts and acted quickly to stop this disease spreading and killing large numbers of Kenyans. At the beginning of this pandemic, our medical experts had projected 10,000 people would be infected by the end of April. However, due to determined mitigation measures—we are now at 343 confirmed cases,” he said.

He added that the decision to escalate and de-escalate the restrictions will be made based on the best scientific and medical advice and on the basis of how vulnerable the country is to large-scale infection.

To cushion the poor from the economic impacts of the lockdown, President Kenyatta on Friday announced a new initiative, the National Hygiene Programme, which is set to kick off on Wednesday April 29 and run for the next 30 days and will employ 26,148 workers, and eventually grow to over a 100,000 youths.

The inaugural cluster of employment will involve residents in 23 informal settlements, spread across seven counties.

“To demonstrate the principles of this approach—the making of face-masks will be undertaken by 4,048 tailors residing in those settlements. For their neighbourhoods, they will make up to 250,000 masks per day. This intervention stimulates the local economy while advancing our war against the coronavirus,” he said.

Phase Two of the programme will be nationwide, he added.

“Additionally, there are already aspects of the post-coronavirus economic recovery plan that we are progressively rolling out. My administration shall activate micro, small and medium enterprises across the country to manufacture basic medical equipment and supplies for domestic use and export.

This initiative will be undertaken under the auspices of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda and will have a budget of Ksh1.5 billion ($15 million). 

President Kenyatta was joined at the press conference by governors Ali Hassan Joho (Mombasa), Amason Kingi (Kilifi) and Salim Mvurya (Kwale). They represent counties that have recorded a spike in the number of coronavirus patients.

He made announcements including the following:

1. An extension of the nationwide 7pm to 5am curfew by 21 days.

2. An extension of the cessation of movement order affecting Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale counties by 21 days.

   These counties were among 14 earlier identified as most at risk for the virus.

   Nairobi and Mombasa account for the highest number of cases and tested samples in the country. President Kenyatta said Kenya had tested more than 17,492 samples by Saturday.

3. That minimal operations will be allowed at hotels and other eateries in select counties should they adhere strictly to the government’s measures against the spread of the deadly virus.

4. The rollout of the National Hygiene Programme on April 29, an initiative that will help create a healthier environment and jobs, with the first phase employing 26,148 workers over 30 days and more than 100,000 youths progressively.

5. That the government is unaware of reports that Kenya will take part in a vaccine trial.

   Giving the Health ministry’s daily briefing on Friday, Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman said authorities were not aware of plans by Oxford University to carry out human vaccine trials in the country.

   President Kenyatta said the nation would be notified of developments in trials as local organisations such as the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) were taking part in global efforts for the vaccine.

6. That more stringent measures against the virus will be taken in consultation with the county governments of Mandera, Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa as they have registered an increase in cases of infection. 

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus infections in Africa was 28,351 and the deaths 1,301, according to Worldometer’s tally on April 25.

The virus has spread across the world, killed many, altered the definition of normalcy and collapsed economies since it was first reported in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019.

It had infected at least 2,847,238 people by April 25, with the total number of deaths standing at 197,979 and that of recoveries at 811,783.

The number of active cases stood at 1,779,175, with three per cent or 58,301 of them being critical and the rest mild.

Worldometer’s count showed that the number of closed cases was 1,009,762, with 80 per cent or 811,783 being the number of recoveries or those discharged.