NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 18 – If you were hoping to sneak out of your house to go buy a pair of jeans or spices in Eastleigh this weekend, don’t.
All malls and shops have been closed indefinitely, following an abrupt decision by the Eastleigh Business District Community, a measure they say will combat the spread of COVID-19 in the area.
The decision will therefore see hundreds of shops closed.
It will also see daily transactions valued at an estimated Sh2 billion a day halted.
The Community’s Secretary General Omar Hussein said the decision to close without a notice was intended to avoid panic shopping by residents.
In a statement seen by Capital Newsbeat, Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan said GSU Contingents will be deployed to Eastleigh, to ensure a total lockdown.
“If the security measures fail, the government would have no choice but to put Eastleigh under total lockdown,” he said.
This comes even as Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’I warned of intensified enforcement measures to limit the communal spread of the virus.
Kenya has so far recorded 246 cases so far, and 11 deaths of the coronavirus.
