Uhuru Kenyatta postpones Covid review meeting to Monday

A meeting which was called by President Uhuru Kenyatta for Friday to review the impact of the phased re-opening of the economy amid a surge in Covid-19 infections has been pushed back to next week.

State House said on Wednesday that the President’s summit with the 47 county chiefs has been rescheduled to Monday, July 27 upon the request of the governors.

“The President has acceded to the request by the Council of Governors to reschedule the 5th Extra-Ordinary Session of the National and County Governments Co-ordinating Summit to review the surge of Covid-19 infections in the country,” State House spokesperson Kanze Dena Mararo said in a statement on Wednesday.

She did not, however, indicate the reason the county chiefs sought the postponement.

The meeting between the head of State and the county chiefs was called to assess the counties preparedness to handle a spike in coronavirus infections and to review the effects of lifting containment measures nearly three weeks ago. Forty-four out of the 47 counties have confirmed cases.

President Kenyatta eased some Covid-19 containment measures, among them the cessation of movement in and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, and Mombasa and Mandera counties.

He also allowed road, rail and air transport to resume, but under strict health protocols. Churches and mosques were also permitted to resume with a maximum of 100 persons and the service taking one hour.

He, however, warned of the possibility of reverting to a lockdown should the spread of the virus pose a threat to the health infrastructure.

The Ministry of Health has warned that August and September mark a critical stage in the fight against the respiratory disease with infection cases set to peak.

Kenya on Tuesday recorded 397 new infections and 12 deaths bringing the total number of infections to 14,168 and 250 fatalities.

The country recorded its highest number of recoveries after 642 patients were declared free of the virus, bringing total survivors to 6,258.