Faith leaders blame political rallies for rising Covid cases, deaths
The Inter Faith Council has blamed the political heat in the country for increasing number of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the country.
Expressing his disappointment, the council chairman Archbishop Anthony Muheria said the team has made recommendations to the government ahead of an expected review of COVID-19 curbs, in view of continued disregard of directives by politicians and citizens.
He spoke after a meeting between the council, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and Health CS Mutahi Kagwe in Nairobi on Tuesday.
“We met and presented our tremendous disappointment with the loss of focus in the fight against the pandemic. On the ground we have noticed more than tripling of the number of deaths but we still continue to witness gatherings of people without masks,” Archbishop Muheria added.
Some leaders have been defying the ban on public gatherings, making church appearances and roadside stopovers that attract crowds, further risk the spread of the deadly pandemic.
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The council, however, thanked religious leaders who have maintained strict adherence to the laid down protocols and urged those yet to, to be considerate of its clergy and especially the elderly who are at a higher risk of dying after contracting the virus.
“We urge religious leaders to seek all available opportunities to sensitize faithful to take these vaccines,” he said.
Further, the Archbishop called on players in the transport sector, especially public transport to adhere to laid down guidelines despite their return to normal capacity last month.
“There seems to be no control on the number of passengers and we are pleading specifically to matatu owners and Kenyans to regulate themselves and carry the stipulated numbers to allow for safe distancing. As you would not enter a matatu without breaks, please do not enter a matatu that is crowded.”
As of Tuesday September 7, statistics from the Ministry of Health show the total fatalities has hit 4,800 after five patients succumbed to the virus, all of them being late deaths reported after conducting facility record audits on divers dates.
Meanwhile, 704 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded after a test from a sample size of 6,776 was conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s case load to 241,134. The positivity rate is 10.4 per cent. The cumulative tests now stand at 2,421,633.
In a statement, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said that there are 1,815 patients currently admitted in various health facilities countrywide, while 4,053 are under the home-based isolation and care programme.
A total of 147 patients are in intensive care, 104 of whom are on ventilatory support and 33 on supplemental oxygen.
Another 771 patients are separately on supplemental oxygen with 709 of them in general wards and 62 in high dependency units.
Meanwhile, 756 patients have recovered from the virus with 689 from the home-based isolation and care programme, while 67 are from various health facilities countrywide.
Total recoveries now stand at 229,762 of whom 186,591 are from the home-based care and isolation programme, while 43,171 are from various health facilities.
