Keep up Covid vigilance

After a long gloomy period under siege from the Covid-19 pandemic, there are encouraging indications that the grave threat is easing. In the past one and a half years since the first case was confirmed in the country, adverse effects have been left in almost every sector.

The health scourge is a heavy burden to the country as more resources have been channelled into mitigating its adverse effects. Businesses have taken a beating, and jobs have been lost. It is, thus, encouraging to hear that the number of Covid-19 cases has significantly fallen. This is rare good news in a country that has gotten used to increasing infections and deaths.

Many families have gone through agonising moments, losing their loved ones after spending millions of shillings on treatment. Taking care of Covid patients costs an arm and a leg. There is some relief in hospitals across the country as the burden in their Covid-19 dedicated wards is eased.

This pandemic has tested the Health and other authorities to the limit. Apart from treatment, the country has had to mobilise resources to enforce the health protocols to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Security personnel have been kept extremely busy, getting the people to observe safety measures.

According to the Health ministry, in the past four weeks, there have been 17,196 new cases and 523 deaths. It’s a relief from a high of 32,650 cases and 795 deaths in August. This is a good development but it’s obviously not the time to lower the guard. The virus is still roaming around, having spread throughout the country.

The current little respite provides an opportunity to step up the campaign to curb infections. The most important is, of course, the ongoing vaccination campaign. More people should be encouraged to get the life-saving jabs.

This is also an opportunity for the government to relax the curfew and ease other restrictions to enable businesses to recover.