NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 25 – The Kenya Private Sector Alliance has asked the government to review the curfew hours from 9 pm till 4 am, for the next three weeks, after which the impact can be reviewed.
KEPSA Chief Executive Officer Caroline Karuku through a statement said that the move will help in slowing down the number of coronavirus infections the country has continued to witness in recent weeks.
Companies operating night shifts, night deliveries, and other essential services should however be exempted.
“KEPSA has noted with concern the spike in COVID infections these last few weeks. The positivity rate now stands at a worrying 16.5percent,” said Karuku.
Currently, the curfew hours in the country start from 10 pm to 4 am.
As of March 24, 1,540 more people tested positive from tests conducted on Tuesday in various parts of the country.
The sector has also urged the government to put up measures that will slow down community spread such as through restriction of all social gatherings including a reduction in the number of people attending physical meetings in offices, policing borders to minimize cross border spread for the next 3 weeks.
“The government can consider limiting the number of people attending funerals to below 15 for the next 3 weeks and also limit gatherings such Easter celebrations and Idd,” Karuku added.
They also proposed that the government should fast track approval of digital health regulations, and clear all regulatory hurdles on the importation of vaccines.
Other proposals issued by the private sector to the government include improvement of the health facilities through increasing number of ventilators, field hospitals.
KEPSA also want the government to rollout a sensitization campaign on immune-boosting measures through increased uptake of foods rich in Zinc, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D.
The private sector has been one of the hard-hit sectors affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in March 2020.
A report by the Federation Of Kenya Employers revealed that the pandemic had affected up to 80 percent of jobs in the private sector created since 2015.
