This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
As the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge in Kenya, governors have issued a stern warning to President Uhuru Kenyatta: lock down counties that fail to contain the spread of the disease or face the consequences.
On June 15, the Council of Governors (CoG), led by Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, expressed their discontent with the government's handling of the pandemic, despite the surge in cases.
According to the CoG, individual county governments will have no choice but to seek a lockdown in consultation with President Kenyatta if the situation worsens.
President Kenyatta is set to address the nation on July 31 and issue a directive on the National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus recommendations.
However, in a statement on July 6, President Kenyatta hinted at the possibility of re-imposing a lockdown if the situation does not improve.
"In the next 21 days, we shall study patterns of interactions and the spread of the disease. Any trends that signal a worsening of the pandemic, we will have no choice but to return to the lock-down at zero-option," he stated.
Despite the challenges, the 47 county governments have taken significant steps to combat the pandemic, including setting up 271 isolation healthcare facilities with 12,034 beds and providing 447 ICU beds and 437 ventilators.
CoG Chairman Oparanya also urged the government to improve testing capacities within county clusters to prevent delays in test results.
"The [testing turnaround] time has been delayed from the initial 24 hours to 7 days. This is not good enough in this war," Oparanya criticized.
