This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
On June 7, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the lifting of cessation of movement orders in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Mandera Counties, citing the country's improved preparedness to reopen.
However, the President also extended the nationwide curfew by 30 days, stating that the country was not yet out of the woods to warrant full reopening of the economy.
Speaking during a live address to the nation, President Kenyatta emphasized the need for cautious optimism and warned that the government would closely monitor health trends and statistics, reverting to lockdown if the situation worsened.
“Fellow Kenyans, by reopening Nairobi, Mombasa, and Mandera, we must be cognisant of the fact that we are all much more at risk than we were when the restrictions were in place, so we must therefore exercise what I call cautious optimism and avoid reckless abandon,” said Uhuru.
President Kenyatta also highlighted the importance of shared responsibility in flattening the curve, stating that the government would only proceed with further reopening based on the behavior of each and every Kenyan.
On June 6, 2020, President Uhuru had accepted the need to extend the nationwide curfew, citing under-preparedness to deal with the pandemic, and had singled out Siaya County as having only a 10-bed isolation facility.
Fast forward to June 29, 2020, President Uhuru expressed confidence that the challenge ahead of the country was not insurmountable, stating that the government would lift the inter-county lockdown in a couple of days and allow domestic flights.
“We are going to be starting the domestic flights and this is what we will use as a trial in the next couple of days. We are opening the inter-county lockdown,” Uhuru said during a virtual forum on US-Africa trade convened by the Corporate Council on Africa.
