This archive report was first published on 25 June 2020.
On June 25, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed concerns over the country's preparedness to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, hinting that the country may not reopen immediately.
Addressing governors at State House in Nairobi, the President emphasized that the level of preparedness in counties would largely determine the national readiness to reopen the country.
"County readiness to respond to new imported cases of infection will largely determine our national readiness to re-open the country as a whole," President Uhuru said.
The President's comments came during a virtual meeting of the national and county governments coordinating summit, which was also attended by Deputy President Dr. William Ruto and representatives of religious and business sectors.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe urged counties to speed up the recruitment of 8,000 health workers under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program to boost the country's COVID-19 response capability.
Deputy President Dr. William Ruto supported the President's proposal for a progressive reopening of the economy and urged counties to speed up the implementation of COVID-19 containment measures.
