Night curfew, ban on rallies extended until end of July to curb Covid
You will be required to keep observing the 10pm-4am curfew restriction until July 27 as part of the measures of checking the spread of Covid-19 amid looming fourth wave of infections.
The extension of the curfew order by a further two months comes as Kenya’s health ministry warned that there was a high possibility of a fourth wave which could be more lethal given the presence of new variants.
Despite a drop in positivity rate countrywide in the last two weeks, Western Kenya counties of Kisumu, Kericho, and Siaya have constantly been recording high positive cases of the virus.
At the same time, the government has maintained all other restrictions currently in place such as ban on public gatherings, processions or movement either alone or as a group during the period of the curfew, with a pass given to those permitted, in writing, by a police officer in charge of the police in a county or a police officer in charge of the police in a division/sub-county.
“Notwithstanding the provisions of this order, the order shall not apply to the services, personnel or workers specified in the Schedule hereto,” the gazette notice from the ministry of Interior said in part.
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Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Sunday, May 30, said that variants originating from India, Britain, and South Africa had been detected in 39 samples from Kenyans who had no travel history, adding that the new strains were circulating at the community level and could escalate the spread of COVID-19 and culminate in the fourth wave expected in July.
“The government is banking on enhanced public health measures and vaccination to suppress COVID-19, avert a public health crisis and hasten a return to normalcy, said Mr Kagwe, adding that, “Kenya has ramped up the acquisition of additional vaccine doses to ensure that 60 per cent of the country’s population is vaccinated by June 2022.”
On Friday, May 28, the country started administering the second shot of the vaccine to health care workers, teachers, security personnel, and citizens aged 58 years and above.
Dr Willis Akhwale, the chairperson of the COVID-19 vaccine deployment task force, said that those eligible for the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine will receive a notification 48 hours in advance.
Kenya received 72,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from South Sudan with the government reassuring those who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for a second dose despite the supply crunch.
Kenya’s COVID-19 cases now stand at 170,647 after 162 people from a sample size of 3,452 tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
At the same time, the total fatalities rose to 3,157 after 16 more people succumbed to the virus. Total recoveries from the virus stand at 116,776 after 643 recovered.
