This archive report was first published on 24 May 2020.
On Saturday, May 23, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta hinted at a possibility of relaxing current COVID-19 containment measures in Kenya, which have been in place since March 27.
Speaking during his seventh national address on the progress made in containing the virus, President Kenyatta noted that every Kenyan would have to take responsibility to prevent the spread of the highly infectious virus.
Kenya has confirmed over 1,000 cases of COVID-19 after testing close to 60,000 samples, with the virus claiming 50 lives so far.
"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," President Kenyatta said.
As of May 23, Kenya's COVID-19 infections had risen to 1,192 after President Kenyatta announced 31 new cases.
Current restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus have taken a toll on most businesses, with over 500,000 jobs lost so far.
World Health Organisation has warned that the virus may not fade away sooner, with the agency's Emergencies Director Dr Mike Ryan saying nations may need to formulate protocols to live with the pandemic, which he noted may become endemic.
