This archive report was first published on 21 June 2021.
June 21, 2021 - Kenya has imposed new restrictions in the Lake Basin region to combat the spread of coronavirus. The Ministry of Health has declared 13 counties a hotspot zone, accounting for 60% of the country's new infections and more than double the national average positivity rate.
Evans Ndamwe, a businessman in Bungoma County, witnessed police closing the local market, affecting his business. "Today, Friday, was a market day and police officers dispersed all traders and it has also affected my business. I have not sold anything," he said.
Security officers are enforcing government directives banning public gatherings in the 13 counties. The Ministry of Health said that 60% of Kenya's new infections were in the western counties, with a positivity rate of 21%, 12% higher than the national average.
Leunora Odinga, a Kisumu resident who lost relatives to COVID-19, says hospitals in her county are overwhelmed with people seeking treatment. "The health condition is poor here. They don't have health equipment, they don't have materials people are suffering," she said.
The current surge in infections in the western region is partly blamed on the national Independence Day event hosted in Kisumu County in early June. The county health minister, Boaz Otieno, says officials are doing everything they can to improve health facilities.
Since March 2020, Kenya has recorded 176,000 coronavirus cases and more than 3,400 deaths.
