NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 11 — The Ministry of Health could drop the nationwide mask mandate in revised guidelines to be issued on Friday following a significant declines in COVID-19 infections and severe cases.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe who gave the indication in a recent interview was set to address the press on revised measures even though he remained guarded on what they new guidelines could entail.
The People Daily, a local newspapers quoted him as saying “if people are not getting sick, then maybe that is the direction we ought to be going.”
He was implying to the possibility of dropping the requirement for people to wear face masks covering both the nose and mouth while in public places.
“This is the decision we’re going to make in the next few days,” the People Daily quoted him as saying.
The Ministry of Health imposed a nationwide mask mandate on April 3, 2020 at the height of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in the country.
The National Police Service moved to enforce the regulations alongside social distancing guidelines that capped the number of passengers in public service vehicles at half the optimum capacity.
“This is a new requirement that must be complied. People must wear masks in public places,” Kagwe said at the time.
The distancing regulations were later lifted amid an economic meltdown that impacted most sectors particularly owing to a ban on inter-county travel.