NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 10 – Governors are now calling upon President Uhuru Kenyatta to ban political gatherings for a period of 30 days so as to stem the spread of COVID-19 with the third wave on the horizon.
The Council’s plea come amid heightened political rallies, where leaders including President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga have intensified public engagements attracting huge crowds, with disregard to social distancing and wearing of masks.
Council of Governors Chairperson and Embu Governor Martin Wambora on Wednesday raised concerns over the increased cases, saying stringent measures need to be put in place even as the President is expected to address the nation on Friday on the same.
Wambora said the Council and the Ministry of Health will relook at some of the existing protocols with a view to containing the current wave.
“We are currently dealing with the third wave of the virus which is severe, we further note that the fight against the disease is being hacked by the current political gathering and in this regard we urge the President to halt all political gatherings in the next 30 days so as to flatten the curve,” stated Wambora.
Wambora also urged Kenyans to continue adhering to the COVID containment protocols issued by the Ministry of Health, after it emerged that most people have lowered their guard.
At the same time, Wambora asked Governors to lead by example in the vaccination exercise in their counties, by being among the first to be inoculated.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe also emphasized on the need to exercise extra caution, noting that the third wave is more severe than the first and the second wave which the country experienced earlier on.
“As you are aware that the third wave has been experienced in other parts of the word including Europe with devastating effects and our hope and prayer as a nation is that this is not we are going to experience in our nation,” said Kagwe.
The COVID-19 positivity rate shot up to 14 per cent, after 713 cases were reported within a period of 24 hours from 5,230 samples analyzed.
Twelve patients also succumbed to the disease, raising the country’s COVID fatality to 1,898.
The number of recoveries stood at 87,903 after 167 patients recovered.
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