President Uhuru Kenyatta has summoned the county chiefs for the Fifth Extraordinary Session of the National and County Government Coordination Summit on Friday.
This might come as a bad Kenyans for Kenyans who have enjoyed almost two weeks of free movement across the country. This is after some Governors have indicated that they will implore the President to re-impose the lockdown if Covid-19 cases continue to rise at an alarming pace.
Since the lifting of restrictions on July 6th, the country has experienced aa sharp surge of Covid-19 cases.
Friday’s meeting will review the virus containment measures and the impact of the phased restrictions.
As of Tuesday, forty-four of the 47 counties has reported Covid-19 cases. The only counties that are yet to record a case are, Baringo, West Pokot, and Samburu.
With the increasing trend Council of Governors chairman, Wycliffe Oparanya prefers that hotspot counties of coronavirus to be put under lockdown.
“If the situation gets dire, individual county governments will have no choice but to, in consultation with President Uhuru Kenyatta, seek to lock down the affected counties to contain the rapid spread and protect lives,” Oparanya said recently.
Oparanya’s thoughts were echoed by Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga who said the focus should be on hotspot counties, where the virus “must be contained.”
“We will have all the facts on the table on Friday during the meeting with the President. We have been caught between a hard place and a rock but we will strive to strike a balance,” he said.
“We must decide whether to continue to allow people to walk in and out of counties, even when cases continue to rise,” he added.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui had opposed to the easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions, warning that it would adversely affect counties with low Covid-19 infection rates.
“We must not allow short economic gains to overshadow the greater public health risks,” he said.
The county chiefs are likely to press the re-imposition of restrictions during the meeting with the President. This is after the Ministry of Health said Covid-19 patients will no longer be transferred to Nairobi.
The virus is predicted to start peaking in August and counties have been urged to improve their capacity to accommodate the caseloads.
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua said the summit will consider the impact of the fresh measures on the economy but tough decisions will have to be made.
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“It will be a balancing act. The rising cases were expected but is the national government doing enough to combat the disease?” he asked.
According to Mutua, county governments should prepare for worst-case scenarios Adding that It was better to stay alive and suffer the economic consequences.
The meeting will also be a platform for assessment of the preparedness of counties and check the overall national response and capacity to handle the virus.
