Tourism CS Najib Balala has hinted that curfew might end in a month’s time just days after the government extended the 10pm-4am curfew.
The government imposed the 10pm-4am curfew as one of the measures to contain the spread of corona virus last year in March.
“We are optimistic…in a months’ time or so we will be able to open up,” Balala said.
Balala was speaking at a media forum on the Magical Kenya Travel Expo whereby he said that discussions were on going between relevant ministries so that curfew could be brought to an end and the economy opened.
According to Balala, the ongoing vaccination programme is vital in the reopening of the economy and will also boost the confidence of international visitors.
The government is trying to balance between full re-opening of the economy and containing the Covid-19 pandemic that has greatly affected global economies.
He however noted that the entertainment sector and other crowd pulling events must be well managed to avoid being super spreaders of the virus.
A spike in infections could lead to a further review of containment measures, including strict curfew hours and restricted movement as seen before.
On Monday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that the curfew period has been extended for 30 more days.
Kagwe said the country is yet to hit the World Health Organization recommended positivity rate of five per cent for a consistent period of 14 days.
“The containment measures including the curfew hours of 10 pm to 4 am will remain there and this is for two reasons… number one is that as far as the positivity rate is concerned, we are still above the WHO recommended figures in terms of two weeks period when you have got less than five per cent of positivity rate at a high testing level,” Kagwe said.
The 30-day extension is to allow more people to get vaccinated.
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