NAIROBI, Kenya, May 6 – The Kenyan government has warned that the country is getting into a more complex situation occasioned by COVID-19, after infections rose to 535 on Tuesday.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the rising infection was worrying, and has urged Kenyans to strictly adhere to government regulations, including hand-washing and wearing masks in public places.
He is particularly concerned that businesses have started resuming operations despite a government warning of the dangers the move exposes Kenyans to.
“The people who are telling others that things are better are lying to them. Somehow along the way we have come to a conclusion as a society that things are back to normal. Things are very challenging,” Kagwe said 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.
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.”
The health CS called on Kenyans to be responsible, work from home and obey other regulations key in suppressing the spread of the infections.
“I am saying that there is still a chance, please adhere to the rules. There is only so far that we can go and so many pleases that we can make. So, those of you who continue on the path of exposing Kenyans, you will bear the blunt of the law. We will take action,” Kagwe warned.
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