Revelers will have to wait a little longer to know the fate of their popular social places.
This after President Uhuru Kenyatta extended the ban on all forms of gatherings, including political meetings for another 30 days.
The ban on all gatherings includes bars, where revelers were hoping, will be declared open by the President in his Saturday address to the nation.
During the address which was widely anticipated by Kenyans who were hoping that the Head of State would open up the country, the President explained that it was not the right time to do so since the country is experiencing a spike in coronavirus infections.
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He noted that Kenya does not meet a list of three thresholds for relaxation as advised by health professionals and public health practitioners, which include a reduction on the number of infections.
” The irreducible minimum for lifting restrictions has three thresholds; One, to open up, the infections must be contained and the number of infections and deaths must be headed downwards. This is currently not the case in our country,” he said.
“Our healthcare system must be prepared sufficiently to take on a surge in infections. It must not be overwhelmed at any one point during this pandemic. Access to testing, isolation and quarantine must be a bare minimum in our health facilities. This is not the case currently.” He added.
Social and public gatherings were banned in March, days after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country.
” Truth be told, if we had not taken the STRINGENT measures we did in March 2020, the rate of infections would have peaked to 800,000 people by July 30
th2020. And if one infected person has potential to infect two people, this number would have hit 2.4 million people in 21 days. By the end of august, 75,000 Kenyans would have died from this virus. But because of the early interventions we took, we have recorded only 2,600 infections and 83 deaths.” Said Uhuru.
Experts now say the ban has greatly contributed to the containment of the virus, with Kenya having registered 2,600 cases in a period of three months.
“According to the experts standing behind me, relaxing the interventions by 20% would lead to 200,000 infections and 30,000 deaths by December 2020. 11. Further, if we relax the interventions by 40%, the infections will peak in November 2020 with 300,000 infected and 40,000 deaths. And if we relax them by 60%, the pandemic will peak in October with 450,000 infections and 45,000 deaths.” Noted Uhuru.