Data from the Ministry of Health shows that the positivity rate — the proportion of positive tests — has been on a steady decline from an all-time high of 37.6 percent on December 27, 2021.
The current positivity rate — is the lowest since December 7, 2020, when it stood at 1.6 percent.
The increased uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in countries such as the US has seen these nations relax restrictions such as wearing masks in major retail shops for those who are fully vaccinated.
Kenya’s Covid-19 positivity rate dropped to a 60-day low of two percent on Monday, underlying the impact of an aggressive vaccination campaign.
Data from the Ministry of Health shows that the positivity rate — the proportion of positive tests — has been on a steady decline from an all-time high of 37.6 percent on December 27, 2021.
The current positivity rate — is the lowest since December 7, 2020, when it stood at 1.6 percent.
The increased uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in countries such as the US has seen these nations relax restrictions such as wearing masks in major retail shops for those who are fully vaccinated.
In Kenya, medical experts reckon that the State should upscale vaccine uptake to make them available in chemists to target mass numbers in a move aimed at fighting the spread of the virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) labels a country to be a high risk if the positivity rate rises above five percent and advises countries to consider restrictions if it remains above the limit for at least 14 days.
“In as much as Kenya has made great strides in the fight against Covid-19, vaccine uptake has been low and the challenge has been to do with access,” Githinji Gitahi, the CEO of Amref Health Africa International, said yesterday.
“Policymakers must make sure that people can access vaccines conveniently. It is not enough to say that we have vaccines, it must be available on Saturday and Sunday when a majority of the population is not working.”
Kenya had by Monday fully vaccinated 5.52 million people and partially inoculated 6.52 million as the nation lags in its fight against the disease.
The nation had banked on mass vaccinations to keep infection rates lower and avoid lockdowns, which triggered layoffs and contraction of the economy last year.
But it is now emerging that vaccine uptake especially among the pastoral communities has been low in a move that has now pushed the state to upscale the exercise to far-flung counties such as Mandera targeting 3.2 million Kenyans.
A growing number of major retailers in the U.S are lifting mask requirements for those who are fully inoculated after new federal guidance, largely moving to an honour system in which they trust that only vaccinated people will bear their faces.
Kenya’s economy, like others, has been hit by the pandemic, as restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus reduced revenues and stifled growth.
Economic output contracted for the first time in nearly three decades in 2020, pummeled by the impact of the coronavirus crisis on key sectors such as tourism.
Growth slid to negative 0.3 percent last year from 5 percent in 2019.
Recovery has started, but there have been fears the pace could be slowed down by a shortage of Covid-19 vaccines and new waves of infections.
Kenya’s economy will grow 5.4 percent- the fastest pace in an election year since the onset of the multiparty political system two decades ago, supported by increased expenditure, a consensus outlook from 14 world-leading banks, consultancies and think-tanks suggests.
