Governor Petitions Uhuru To Return Tough COVID-19 Restrictions

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui has petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to reinstate some of the tough restrictions he had put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 following an upsurge of new positive cases in the past one week.

Governor Kinyanjui expressed concern that gains made in previous months in the fight against spread of the pandemic have been wiped out in just under one month.

Addressing the media in his office, the county boss spoke of enforcing localized protocols and movement restrictions in areas where there is an upsurge in cases. “Where there is an upsurge of Covid-19 cases in a specific county the affected devolved unit should be compelled to issue localized lockdowns and movement restrictions as may be necessary to stem the spread,” he suggested.

Kinyanjui observed that since President Kenyatta eased restrictions allowing bars and clubs to operate, and pushing the nighttime curfew to 10 pm, most Kenyans had adopted a carefree attitude towards Covid-19.

“The Covid positivity rate that we were all happy and very excited about when it dropped to four percent has now shot up to an incredible 14 percent in the past week. This is almost four times what it was before. This reality is reflected in increased diagnosis and hospitalization of patients in need of critical care. Consequently, there is need for greater caution to reduce the rate of infections. If the current trend goes on without intervention, our healthcare systems will be under great duress. The window of intervention is small and dependent on the timing,” warned the governor.

He expressed concern that the public has failed to follow health protocols to limit the spread of Covid-19, leading to a jump in daily infections.

While raising concern on how public vehicles have gone back to carrying the full capacity, Governor Kinyanjui sounded a warning that the situation may worsen if people do not change their behaviours and attitude.

He stated that a disturbing trend was emerging in villages where people were now greeting each other through handshakes and hugs during funerals and other social gatherings.

In the meantime, Nakuru County Government has rolled out Covid-19 vaccination campaign targeting high-risk groups after receiving over 30,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca from the National Government.

Prioritized high-risk groups include frontline workers, elderly people above 65 years, and people living with underlying conditions and the disabled.

A total of 11,000 healthcare workers, members of the County Health Management Teams, drivers, cleaners and other hospital employees will be vaccinated. Some 3,000 doses will be supplied to the Lanet Regional Military Hospital.

Nakuru has so far recorded 4,961 confirmed infection cases and 102 deaths since the first case of Covid-19 was first reported in the County in March last year.