Despite an overall quiet day in terms of numbers, Kenya still raised the bar of attention and containment in view of the possible worsening of the Coronavirus situation in the country.
With seven cases of infection and 44 tested negative and discharged from the isolation ward at Mbagathi Hospital, one can only think of the many alarms in various towns and villages in Kenya and the 25 suspicious cases that have been swabbed today.
"Our actions must be guided by the trends we have observed in other countries," explained Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe, the man from whose lips most Kenyans and foreign residents in the country are hanging these days. "Experiences from other countries indicate that the number of infected people increases dramatically in the second week after the confirmation of a first case. As a result, the following two weeks are extremely critical for this country as we try to contain the epidemic. We remain focused on the importance of emphasising the high level of hygiene and maintaining social distance as the most effective containment measures".
Now is therefore the time to limit contemporary access to every commercial and social place in the territory. The Government has primarily focused on supermarkets, asking for distances and limitation of access and at the same time also inviting to keep the shops open 24 hours a day if necessary. If necessary, the Government is also willing to provide security on request.
As far as the transport sector is concerned, the Ministry of Health has precisely indicated the limits of passenger presence within each public service: for matatu with 14 seats, a maximum of 8 people, for buses with 25 people, no more than 15, for those with 30 people or more, a maximum of 60% of the seats occupied. This also concerns the high-speed train SGR Nairobi-Mombasa and any other means of transport. In addition, the vehicles for the transport of persons must be disinfected at the end of each trip and have decent standards of hygiene.
The indications to restaurants and supermarkets seem to have already been received, so much so that in the capital there is already a long list of places that have decided early to close completely, without waiting for the ordinance that will prohibit them to keep the shutters open after 19.30, from next Monday, March 23.
Also many supermarkets, besides reaffirming that they will respect and enforce the rule of compulsory distances, have already given indications to start an intelligent rationing of resources: this is the case of the Tuskys chain, present everywhere. The company has announced that their checkouts will not accept more than three pieces of each product sold in the supermarket from customers and they recommend not to crowd the aisles and counters of their own business premises.