This archive report was first published on 24 May 2020.
On Saturday, President Uhuru Kenyatta delivered his seventh national address on the progress made in containing the COVID-19 virus, which has claimed 50 lives in Kenya.
As of May 23, Kenya had confirmed over 1,000 cases after testing close to 60,000 samples, with the number rising to 1,192 on the same day after President Kenyatta announced 31 new cases.
President Kenyatta noted that every Kenyan would have to take responsibility to prevent the spread of the highly infectious virus, stating, “We will not continue with the lockdown and the curfew, I have told health officials and my ministers that they should start telling Kenyans that we cannot be under a curfew or lockdown forever.”
He emphasized that the obligation would shift to Kenyans, who would have to take individual responsibility to minimize the spread of the virus, adding, “You have a responsibility to ensure you protect yourself, you should know that if you don’t obey the measures, you are not only endangering yourself, but those around you.”
Current restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus have taken a toll on most businesses, with over 500,000 jobs lost so far.
According to the World Health Organisation, the virus may not fade away sooner, with the agency’s Emergencies Director Dr Mike Ryan warning that nations may need to formulate protocols to live with the pandemic, which he noted may become endemic.
