Act decisively to stop the spread of Covid-19

It is regrettable that it had to take public outrage for the government to act on the coronavirus threat. Events of the past week, culminating in two statements issued on Thursday by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and senior officials in the Health ministry, left no doubt the government was clueless on what to do about the virus.

What proved most galling was allowing a plane from China to land at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with 239 passengers from Guangzhou on Wednesday. Nothing could be more reckless and negligent. Worse, a statement by authorities that those travellers should self-quarantine was abhorrent. Most countries have cancelled flights from China as a precautionary measure because the country is vast  and there are chances of any passenger from any part of its jurisdiction having an infection.

The public uproar forced the government to act. On Friday, President Kenyatta set up a 21-member team headed by new Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe to coordinate emergency response and give regular updates on actions being taken to handle the crisis.

Even so, the strategic responses announced by President Kenyatta remained underwhelming. Among others, the government designated 38 hospitals across the country as isolation centres. These include six referral facilities. Paradoxically, even among the referrals, Kenyatta National Hospital, the top public facility, only has 11 beds for isolation. Much is not known about the rest. Mbagathi Hospital, a key facility for emergencies, has to undergo renovations and an upgrade to pass muster.

Most of the hospitals designated for isolation services are run by counties and ordinarily, even without this scourge, are ill-placed to deal with emergencies. Thus, it is doubtful that they can manage the pandemic.

Africa, which had survived the onslaught, is getting ravaged. Three countries – Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria – have now recorded infections. The risk is real.

Nairobi is an international trade hub. Travellers across the globe connect through Nairobi. This calls for extreme caution. Surveillance and active monitoring are paramount. Kenya must make tough decisions, including suspending flights from high-risk countries. Not only are the citizens exposed but neighbours and other countries dealing with Kenya would keep off.

Henceforth, the government and particularly the emergency response committee must act decisively.

Mr Kagwe and his team have to mobilise resources and action to get Kenya prepared to tackle the pandemic should it strike within our borders and keep the public abreast of emergency responses.