NAIROBI, Kenya, May 23-The Kenya COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund has so far received Sh3.2 billion worth of cash and other donations, towards supporting the government’s war on the pandemic.
The Fund’s Chairperson Jane Karuku told a news conference on Saturday that they are now set to start purchasing Personal Protective Equipment for all hospitals and refugee camps in the country.
“Hopefully, we will start distributing PPE’s by Wednesday next week,” she said. “Our estimation is that what we will buy will be sufficient for two months across all the 47 counties,” she told journalists after receiving donations from various corporates, among them the Kenya Manufacturers Association, Teachers Service Commission and the Communication Authority of Kenya.
Also present was the Kikuyu Council of Elders led by the Secretary-General Reverend Peter Munga- who urged Kenyans to heed to the government advice to help suppress the spread of the virus.
By May 23, there were 1,192 infections and 50 fatalities.
The Ministry of Health has warned that the virus’ peak in the country will be in August or September when at least 200 cases will be reported daily.
“Our simple message to Kenyans is that they take this pandemic very seriously. This is a matter of showing that you truly care about others,” Munga said.
Kenya has so far conducted 57,650 tests since March when the first case was detected on a student who had traveled from the US through London.
“Coronavirus pandemic has and will continue to undermine our efforts to revitalize our economy for the unforeseeable future, indeed it is true as I have said before that the rate of infections may indeed surge upwards or fall if we fail to comply with the protocols issued by the Ministry of Health,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said Saturday in an address from State House, when he announced a massive Sh53.7 billion stimulus package to revive the economy.
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