Kenya Mulls Fresh Ban on Travel as Daily Covid-19 Infections Spike

The government says it may be forced to reintroduce tough Covid-19 containment measures due to the rising number of infections.

Health CAS Dr. Rashid Aman on Tuesday raised alarm over a worrying spike in the number of daily Covid-19 cases in the past few days with the positivity rate moving above five percent.

He warned that the government could be forced to restrict the movement of people and close schools if the trend continues.

“We will have to take action to restrict movement or close schools if numbers will increase…We will monitor what is happening in our schools and take action based on what will be fit at that time,” Aman said during a press briefing.

“We have reported cases of reinfection in our country…We have instituted measures which have played a big role even as we are relaxing some measures that were put in place.”

“I appeal to all Kenyans to be vigilant now more than ever before so that we protect our children…Public service vehicles must not overload…If we fail to adhere to the measures we will have ourselves to blame. Teachers should ensure the agreed protocols are adhered to,” he added.

On Tuesday, 318 new positive cases including 309 Kenyans and nine foreigners were reported across the country raising the total number of infections to 41,937.

Nairobi led with 112 cases, followed by Uasin Gishu (30), Mombasa (29), Nakuru (25), Busia (24), Kisii (21), Kisumu (19), Kakamega (8), Murang’a (8), Kilifi (6), Laikipia (5), Kiambu (5), Embu (5), Homa Bay (4), Trans Nzoia (3), Turkana (3), Machakos (2), Isiolo (2), Kajiado (2), Nyandarua (1), Garissa (1), Tharaka Nithi (1), Vihiga (1) and Kirinyaga (1).

243 people recovered from the disease, bringing the overall number of recoveries to 31,340 while the death toll rose by 10 to 787.