President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday extended the nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew by 21 more days in a bid to tame the spread of the coronavirus as the country recorded 49 new cases.
According to President Kenyatta, who spoke while addressing the nation at State House in Nairobi, the 7pm to 5am curfew will now end on June 6, 2020.
This now comes as the second extension after the curfew which was first announced on March 25 was extended on April 25.
The Head of State also extended the ban on movement in and out of Nairobi, Mandera and counties on the Coastal strip by the same period.
“The cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi metropolitan area and the counties of Kilifi, Kwale, Mombasa and Mandera that is currently in force shall also be extended upto and until June 6, 2020,” he said.
The President further sought to assure Kenyans that the government “will continue to take every measure it can” to protect them from the pandemic as well as to “plan for the recovery of our economy post the crisis.”
“The whole world is walking through the valley of the shadow of death. However, I know that the firmness of our resolve as a nation, the fidelity of each and every one in keeping the enemy at bay, and God’s enduring Grace, will see us into the light,” he said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta also banned movement of persons and passengers in and out of Kenya through the Tanzania and Somalia borders following the rise of cross-border Covid-19 transmission.
The President said only cargo vehicles will be exempted from the directive which takes effect from midnight May 16, 2020.
Kenyatta however stated that only truck drivers who test negative for the coronavirus will be allowed entry into Kenya.
“All drivers of the cargo vehicles shall be subjected to mandatory COVID-19 disease testing and will only be granted entry into the territory of the Republic of Kenya if they test negative,” said the President.
Addressing the Nation from State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta said over the last week a total of 43 cases recorded in the country had been imported from the neighbouring Somalia and Tanzania.
“These 43 cases represent almost a quarter of the 166 confirmed infections during this last week,” said Kenyatta.
He noted that out of the 43 imported cases 14 were recorded in Wajir, 16 in Namanga, 2 in Lunga Lunga and one in Loitoktok.
“If we had not taken that intervention the imported cases through our borders would today have accounted for more than 50% of this weeks infections,” he said.
The Head of State said within the Kenyan borders, Covid-19 infections have now spread to 22 of the 47 counties.
“These numbers and the spread of infections clearly indicate that if no action is taken all the gains already achieved in combating this pandemic will undoubtedly be lost,” he said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday announced that the number of Covid-19 cases in the country had risen to 830 after 49 more tested positive.
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