Uhuru lifts curfew, says Covid-19 cases on decline
What you need to know:
- President Kenyatta had come under pressure to ease Kenya’s Covid-19 restrictions after a sharp decline in infections.
- Kenya has met a majority of indicators used to downgrade restrictions in line with (WHO) guidelines.
- 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.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday lifted the nationwide curfew, which has been in place since March last year to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
"I hereby order that the nationwide dusk to dawn curfew that has been in effect from March 27, 2020, be and is hereby vacated with immediate effect," President Kenyatta announced in his Mashujaa Day speech to the Nation.
President Kenyatta had come under pressure to ease Kenya’s Covid-19 restrictions after a sharp decline in infections and hospital admissions reported in recent weeks.
The head of state on Wednesday however cautioned the country is not yet out of the woods and appealed to Kenyans to continue to observe the Ministry of Health containment measures.
Kenya has met a majority of indicators used to downgrade restrictions in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, including ICU admissions, positivity rate and deaths.
The WHO recommends that restrictions can be eased if the positivity rate —the proportion of tests coming back positive — remains below five percent for at least two weeks.
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 last year, pummeled by the impact of the coronavirus crisis on key sectors like tourism.