Kenya to lift Nairobi and Mombasa lockdown

President Uhuru Kenyatta

By Nancy Agutu, NAIROBI Kenya

The government of Kenya will lift Intercounty lockdown in a couple of days, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.

Uhuru said once the lockdown is lifted, the government will allow domestic flights.

The president spoke during a virtual leader’s forum on US-Africa trade convened by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) on Sunday.

"We are going to start domestic flights and this is what we are going to use as our trial over the next couple of days because we are opening up the lockdown of intercounties," he said.

Uhuru said this is what going to set the pace to opening up the skies in readiness for international flights.

"If you don't take precautions, opening up too quickly also has its downside. We are eager to open up but also eager to stay safe and healthy. We are doing everything to ensure we are back in the sky," he added.

While acknowledging that Covid-19 response measures had helped save lives, Uhuru noted that the interventions have led to negative economic effects.

He said the informal sector, tourism and the hotel industry suffered the heaviest burden adding, that his administration had put in place measures to cushion vulnerable communities and businesses from the adverse effects of the pandemic.

The lockdown which was extended on 6th June 2020 for a further 30 days elapses on 6th July 2020.

The National Emergency Response Committee will this week either ease the current measures or tighten to extend them.

This is because the period given to the counties by the President to set up a 300-bed capacity isolation centres is fast coming to an end.

As of Thursday, only 12 counties had met the requirement, with the rest of the counties still racing against time to achieve the target.

The country surpassed the 6,000 caseload on Sunday after 259 new coronavirus cases were reported. 

The number of positive cases now stands at 6,070. – The Star