While President Uhuru Kenyatta has decided to take another two days of reflection and has postponed the meeting with the Governors and his Ministers from tomorrow, Friday 24 July to Monday 27 July, Kenyan and African infectious experts advise the Government not to return to the lockdown, both local and national, and expect international flights to reopen no earlier than August 15.
In an interview with TV channel K24, Dr. Mark Nanyingi, one of the most important epidemiologists of infectious diseases not only in Kenya, said that the lockdown is neither a solution nor an antidote to the pandemic and may not be the right solution in the face of the growing number of positive cases of Covid-19.
"We are at the stage of community transmission of the virus that must be stopped - said Nanyingi - previous isolation measures have only slowed it down, putting another lockdown now would make no sense, because it would make more disease. At this point you can not hope to press a reset button".
According to Nanyingi the lockdown could only make the situation worse, considering that you would want to block an entire population in correspondence with the planned opening of international travel.
According to the Daily Nation newspaper, the reopening of airports for intercontinental flights is scheduled for 15 August, but there is no confirmation yet. According to Nanyingi himself, it would be wrong to reopen everything anyway before the curve starts to go down.
"It would take two weeks without cases to clear the national lockdown, which is now virtually impossible. In any case, additional restrictive measures could only work if all other measures were in place and monitored. Plus a robust public health system, including smaller and decentralized hospitals. But this will not be possible in Kenya despite all the efforts made and objectives achieved.
"I will not be a supporter of a new lockdown unless we work on strict measures and improvements in the coming weeks - concluded the doctor - and at the limit should be closures concerning only some areas".
On the same positions also the CEO for Africa of the organization Amref Health, Githinji Gitahi.
"A general isolation will not be of any use unless it is established with a precise objective of prevention - said Gitahi - I do not believe that a new closure is necessary, unless we have the means and programs to match it with a program of improvement of structures and containment".
According to the number one of Amref Health Africa, the lockdown could concern specific categories of people, and not geographical areas. For example, people at risk and with diseases recognized by Covid-19 as aggravating, could be asked to stay at home until the pandemic has passed.
"Our goal from now on," says Gitahi, "should be to protect vulnerable people, such as diabetics, heart patients and the very old. These categories can be identified through local institutions and community leaders or senior councils. Once reported, citizens at risk will be able to 'reverse isolation', i.e. work from home and interact with people in other ways'.