State House Covid-19 cases should jolt us all

The revelation that four State House employees have tested positive for Covid-19 is the most potent demonstration that the pandemic is no respecter of individuals or institutions.

 Until the announcement early this week, Kenya’s seat of power looked fairly safe. Such assumption no longer holds.

At any rate, reports from various parts of the world have shown how the pandemic has affected presidents, prime ministers and ministers.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince Charles are among the top leaders to have been infected by the virus, but survived. Closer to home, South Sudan’s Vice-President, Dr Riek Machar, and a host of ministers as well as Burundi’s former First Lady Denise Nkurunziza have been infected.

SAFETY PROTOCOLS

The State House’s announcement is significant as it sends the message that the pandemic is here with us. It is a wake-up call that we must not let our guard down.

In recent weeks, the citizens have relapsed to the old ways of doing things, disregarding safety protocols such as social distancing, wearing of a face mask in public and maintaining high hygiene standards.

Yet, as government projections indicate, we are not yet out of the woods. Indeed, the number of infections have been rising by the day. As of yesterday, the cumulative figure was 3,860 out of the 121,956 people tested. Deaths have passed the 100 mark.

The saving grace though, is that more people continue to recover, giving hope that the virus is not a death sentence.

Secondly, the revelation is vital in ending the stigma that has come to characterise coronavirus infection. Health ministry officials have observed that the war against the virus was being undermined by endemic stigma associated with it.

Due to stigma, many people shun voluntary testing. Yet that is important in establishing the actual levels of infection and, subsequently, interventions to deal with the pandemic. Worse, many unhealthy people, especially those with chronic diseases, have ceased going to hospital for fear of testing positive for Covid-19.

COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION

Part of the reason for the stigma is lack of correct and comprehensive information about the virus and the way positive cases are handled.

Notably, the government has started relaxing some of the regulations, such as extending the curfew hours and, lately, allowing hotels and restaurants to work up to 7.30pm.

The reason is to promote business and avert economic decline. But that does not mean the safety regulations have been suspended.

Given that the coming weeks are crucial in overcoming the plague, the onus is on members of the public to adhere to the regulations to avert an increase of infections.