THE CUTTING EDGE - Daily Nation

SHARED VIRUS: Even the gloomy coronavirus pandemic environment has not been short of hilarious moments, says Njuguna Mwaniki. He is amused at the lengths to which smokers will go to feed their unhealthy habit. The pandemic, he adds, is real, “but just think of two people who are aware of the grave danger from the highly contagious disease but are unable to keep off cigarettes”. Says he: “I saw two people wearing face masks and enthusiastically sharing a cigarette. The masks may shield them from the coronavirus disease but the shared cigarette could just make them share the virus.” His contact is

SMOKED OUT: As one who indulges in the deadly habit, Nicholas Murithi is unhappy about the exploitation of smokers, more so when one buys cigarettes per stick instead of a packet. “For Sportsman and SM brands, manufactured by BAT Kenya, the wholesale price of a packet is Sh210. Retailers should sell it at Sh240. “Instead, they prefer to sell per stick, at Sh15, which comes to Sh300 per packet, therefore making a cool Sh90 profit. This applies to all BAT Kenya and Mastermind Tobacco brands. Are the manufacturers aware of this?” His contact is

QUARANTINE WOES: There is something terribly wrong in the coronavirus quarantine centres that could have terrible consequences, warns Ruth Gituma. The health authorities, Ruth adds, should think seriously about how to manage the rising incidence of trauma in those camps. “We’re all for stamping out the pandemic and we ask everyone to listen and follow the government’s directives. However, there’s something that needs to be looked at critically in these facilities. We might end up with a bigger problem, even suicides, if we are not careful. There’s a need for psychological and trauma management, given the high numbers in these centres.” Her contact is

POLICE BRUTALITY: The images doing the rounds on social media of police brutalising fellow Kenyans for failing to reach their homes in time for the beginning of the dusk-to-dawn curfew are “most disgusting and repugnant”, remarks Prof Maina Muchara. This, he adds, portrays the picture of a country with no laws. Such a country, he explains, is way below even the banana republic, whose dictionary description is a politically unstable nation with an economy dependent on the exportation of a limited-resource. “The officers should be made to pay for their impunity.” His contact is

‘SLOWTEL’: Lagging so far behind its major competitor, one would have expected Airtel to do all it can to narrow the gap. And if Derek Liech’s frustration is anything to go by, then management had better crack the whip. “The services at Mombasa’s Moi Avenue Airtel Shop are extremely slow, with very few attendants serving many customers. The few staff can’t cope, causing people to leave before being served. With the Covid-19 precautionary measures, including social distancing, the firm should hire more attendants to ease and quicken services. This should reduce the long queues that extend outside the shop in a bid to observe the one-metre physical distance rule.” His contact is

SILVER LINING: There is no gainsaying the agony that Covid-19 has wrought on the world, remarks Ayub Osinde. But Ayub sees some good things he wishes could be taken into the post-coronavirus era to make the lives of the people better, thanks to the discipline being enforced. “The constant sanitation and the almost-immediate disposal of bodies, not forgetting social distancing, are virtues that should be embraced” even after the pandemic, he says. “I am optimistic that we will overcome but it’s of paramount importance to get some good lessons.” His contact is

Have an enduring day, won’t you!