This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
As the country approaches a review of COVID-19 restrictions on Monday, July 6, 2020, Kenyan governors are pushing for a gradual and conditional reopening of the economy.
Council of Governors chairperson Wycliffe Oparanya said the 47 counties had put in place safety regulations to manage and slow down the spread of COVID-19.
“After consultations with my colleagues, we advise President Uhuru Kenyatta to gradually open the economy,” Mr Oparanya, who is also the Governor of Kakamega, said on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.
President Kenyatta had extended a ban on public gatherings for 30 days on June 6, 2020, restricting entry and exit from the capital and the counties of Mombasa and Mandera for a similar period.
The coronavirus crisis has dealt a blow to the economy over the last three months, reducing demand for goods and services across all sectors due to restrictions on movement, night curfew, travel restrictions affecting export and airlines, closure of schools and suspension of social gatherings.
Despite this, President Kenyatta fixed the decision to reopen the economy on the level of preparedness by counties to respond to COVID-19 infections.
“County readiness to respond to new imported cases of infection will largely determine our national readiness to reopen the country as a whole,” President Kenyatta said on June 25, 2020, during a virtual meeting held with the county heads.
