President Uhuru Kenyatta has lifted the ban of movement in and out of the Nairobi metropolitan area and the counties of Mombasa and Mandera which had been imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
“I order and direct that the cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan area, Mombasa County and Mandera County shall lapse at 4am tomorrow,” said Kenyatta.
Addressing the Nation at Harambee House, President Kenyatta said the country has met a “reasonable level of preparedness” to handle the COVID-19 pandemic hence his decision to partially reopen the country.
He has however extended the 9pm-4am countrywide curfew for the next 30 days.
All public transport providers operating in the three areas that were on lockdown will however require approval from the Ministry of Health on compliance of safety protocols.
“There shall be no movement into and out of areas previously under movement restrictions without the public transport providers being compliant with all protocols developed by the ministry of health. To operate PSVs, the operators will require mandatory certification from Ministry of Health, in consultation with ministry of Transport,” said Kenyatta.
Meanwhile, he warned that the order to reopen had been made conditionally, noting that should the situation get worse over the next 21 days, the country will revert to lock-down.
“Should the situation deteriorate and pose a challenge to our health infrastructure, we will have to revert to lockdown.
In the next 21 days we shall study patterns of interaction and spread of the disease. Any trends that signal a worsening of the pandemic, we shall have no choice but to return to lock down at zero option,” said President Kenyatta.
He urged Kenyans to exercise “cautious optimism and avoid reckless abandon” noting that following the reopening of Nairobi, Mombasa and Mandera borders, the transmission risk will be much higher.
“By reopening Nairobi, Mombasa and Mandera we must be cognizant that we are much more at risk than when the restrictions were at risk. we must therefore exercise cautious optimism and avoid reckless abandon,” said Kenyatta.
Domestic flights set to resume July 15, international flights August 1
The government has restored both domestic and international flights effective July 15 and August 1 respectively as part of the re-phased re-opening of the economy.
Speaking on Monday during a televised address to the Nation, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the return of air travel follows recent engagement between aviation stakeholders on safe return of air travel in the country.
“Local air travel shall resume effective July 15 in strict conformity with protocols from both the Ministry of Health and civil aviation management,” he said.
Earlier last week, the President had hinted at the return to air travel in a webcasted meeting with regional leaders.
Further, Cabinet Secretaries to the Ministry of Transport and Tourism James Macharia and Najib Balala had toured the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Moi International Airport (MIA) in Mombasa and expressed the facilities readiness to flights.
Additional inspections to the airports were made at the end of last week including a tour of the Eldoret Airport which facilitates part of local travel.
International flights were the first to fold on March 25 before the subsequent ban on local air travel as the country instilled measures to combat the ensuing pandemic.
The lift of the ban to air travel is expected to mark a relief to local carriers who have been restricted to lifting cargo only following the ban on passenger flights.
New normal flights
Aviation players have in recent weeks been fast tracking protocols to aid the return of air travel in compliance to the Ministry of Health guidelines with flying under the new Covid-19 era is expected to take in dramatic changes upon their return.
According to part of protocols shared by Kenya Airways to staff members, passengers on both international and domestic flights will see a one-hour increase in check-in times taking the total wait time by local and international travellers to two and three hours respectively.
The additional time being set to allow for new procedures on containing the virus spread.
Airport lounges will now incorporate floor marking indicative of social distancing as seen currently in supermarkets while temperature checks using thermal guns will now be a new normal.
Guests will always be required to have face masks on both in and out of flights while baggage trays will be frequently disinfected.
Passengers will be required to strictly abide by zoning while boarding and not priority while check-in counters will be fitted with anti-microbial screens.
Inflight, cabin crew will be required to always wear personal protective equipment (PPE) while meal boxes and cutlery will require a single wrap.
Further, blankets and pillows which were previously used on multiple occasions will require individual packaging and will be deployed for single use only.
Passengers will be required to keep social distancing while disembarking while each aircraft will require deep cleaning and disinfection after each flight.
Churches reopens , limits worship to only 100 people; bars remain closed
The president also announced the phased reopening of places of worship in the country but extended the closure of bars for another 30 days.
President Kenyatta, who addressed the nation at Harambee House, however stated that the places of worship must first comply with set regulations before opening back their doors.
The Head of State stated that such regulations include a condition of only 100 congregants at any given worship session which he added should not take more than an hour each.
He said persons under the age of 13 years and those over the age of 58 as well as those with underlying health conditions shall not attend worship, also extending the suspension of Sunday schools and madrasas “until further notice.”
“Places of worship will commence phased reopening for congregational worship and the public can attend in strict conformity with all applicable guidelines and protocols including the self-regulating guidelines that have been developed by the Inter-Faith Council,” he said.
“Our places of worship to open in a period that does not exceed three weeks after they have had the opportunity to fully engage with their colleagues across the country.”
He added: “The prohibition against social and political gatherings, of whatever nature, is extended for a further period of 30 days. The restriction of the operation of bars to ‘take-away’ only, and the restrictions on the number of persons who can attend weddings and funerals is extended for a further period of 30 days.”
The president also directed the Ministry of Education to notify the public on the resumption of the 2020 academic calendar for basic education as well as tertiary institutions by Tuesday.
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