NAIROBI, Kenya, May 6 – People are taking one sausage, two beers then hip-hop to the next eatery and repeat the same.
That is how Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe described careless Kenyans flouting COVID-19 regulations after several restaurants and eateries chose to open in contravention to a government order.
“What are they doing?” a visibly agitated Kagwe posed during his daily briefing on Tuesday, when he announced 45 new cases, the highest infections on a single day, raising the infections tally in the country to 535.
The same eateries, the CS said, are blatantly ignoring the protocols that were issued on ensuring social distancing.
“It is just unfortunate that people are disregarding the conditions set out by the Government. This is dangerous, and we will have to take action,” he warned.
He said the idea of re-opening was noble but even reversing it, he warned, was an option on the table.
The government had allowed restaurants to open with strict conditions, but warned at the weekend that that will not be allowed due to the current situation.
Kenya has 24 fatalities from the virus, with the global toll topping 250,000 Tuesday with 3.5 million infections.
“Things have not been easy. Things are getting difficult,” he asserted. “We all have to stay together and help each other.”
The government has already mapped out areas with high community infections like Eastleigh and Old Town in Mombasa.
“I share the feelings that people have, some that I have been sent by people in anger, having observed people behaving in social places partying, sitting outside bars and drinking away…this is not good for you,” he said. “If we stay focused, we shall surely overcome and get our lives back.”
