UPDATE: President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday spelt out stringent measures towards curbing the spread of Covid-19.
Uhuru imposed cessation of movement in four counties – Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado – citing that their positivity rate is high.
He categorized them as one zone and the cessation of movement was expressly by road, rail or air until further notice.
In the four counties which are Covid-19 hot spots, the president imposed a dusk to dawn curfew beginning 8 pm and ending at 4 am. All meetings in-person meetings in the four counties were banned as well.
All bars in Kiambu, Machakos, Nairobi and Kajiado are to be shut down indefinitely while restaurants and eateries will only serve on a takeaway basis. They are not allowed to sell alcohol.
For the rest of the country, the 10 pm to 4 am curfew remain in effect while bars and eateries are allowed to operate within the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health.
Former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo stirred a debate after tweeting about an imminent lockdown in the wee hours of Friday morning.
Kabogo while acknowledging the severity of the third wave of Covid-19 said that the only way the country goes to contain further spread of the disease is a nationwide lockdown.
“A total lockdown is eminent, the 3rd wave of covid-19 is deadly,” he tweeted.
Moments after his tweet, the debate took over social media as different people debated on why it is the best way to curb the virus while others countered it.
A section of Kenyan agreed with Kabogo that a lockdown is paramount at this time in a bid to curb the rapid spread of the disease.
“#TimeToLockDown the country, we urge president Uhuru Kenyatta to lock down the country since Covid-19 cases are rising at an alarming speed,” Alberto Januzaj said.
Manuel referenced the lack of ICI beds across many public and private hospitals in the country.
“People are dying, there are no ICU beds. There is no other option but to impose new Lockdown measures then ask that people follow @MOH_Kenya regulations to the letter.”
A week ago, Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua warned that there are no ICU beds at the Machakos Level Five Hospital.
The governor urged Kenyans to take necessary precaution.
However, other said that locking down the country was not a solution because the problem is not in the movement of people but their behaviour.
Other cited that this would have an adverse effect on an already struggling economy.
It is rumoured that President Uhuru Kenyatta will between Friday and Sunday issue an address on the way forward due to the increased cases of Covid-19.
On Thursday, Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi raised a red flag citing that the country’s positivity rate continues to increase exponentially.
She gave an example of Nairobi whose positivity rate is 57%.
“Nairobi’s contribution to the positivity is staggering and stands at close to 57.7 percent and that is very high and disheartening. As we have repeatedly said, it would be irresponsible for us to sit back and watch the situation deteriorate further,” the CAS warned.
“Unless this trend is arrested, we may have no alternative but to take more stringent measures as necessary to protect the lives of our people,” she opined.
