Experts fear Covid-19 explosion

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said he would spend his Christmas in the office mulling over the new variant of Covid-19, and ‘‘praying that it doesn’t visit us at all’’. He wished that Kenyans would observe health protocols in their celebrations. 

Then came Christmas Day and Kenyans threw all caution to the wind. By the hundreds, they gathered in public places, making merry with friends, family and strangers alike without a care in the world. Health experts now fear the country could be staring at an explosion of cases in the coming days.

Yesterday, Kenya recorded 130 more new infections of Covid-19, bringing the country’s caseload to 95,843. Two more patients have died from the complications of the virus in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatalities to 1,655.

According to the Health ministry, 681 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised countrywide, 38 of whom are in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while seven are in High Dependency Unit (HDU).

To date, 76,998 people have recovered from the virus while a total of 1, 031,721 people have been tested.

Public beaches

Every year, Kenyans throng public beaches at the Coast to mark the festive season. Not even a global pandemic this year would stop them from this annual ritual.

At Jomo Kenyatta and Nyali beaches in Mombasa, hundreds came out to celebrate by the sea, bringing friends and children along, in what was the largest gathering at the beaches since the pandemic started.

The government had earlier this year banned gatherings at public beaches as one of the measures aimed at curtailing the spread of Covid-19.

The newly opened Likoni Mall was another popular attraction at the coastal city, visited by hundreds of families. Authorities at the new facility said they hadn’t expected so many people to turn up.

At Mama Ngina Waterfront, hundreds converged to take in the sea breeze, taking pictures to capture the moment.

Travel upcountry

Nairobi’s Uhuru Park was teeming with action as city residents took to the public facility to celebrate with their families. Many city residents said they were unable to travel upcountry to join their families for the festivities, owing to the economic devastation that the pandemic has visited on them.

This though didn’t keep them from coming out in droves to mark the day at the city’s public places, in what was a day of horror as the majority of merrymakers blatantly failed to follow Ministry of Health Covid-19 guidelines.

Few wore masks while social distancing was barely maintained. While children swam, rode the merry-go-round and played, adults mingled freely.

Health experts now fear this recklessness could lead to an explosion of cases in the next two to three weeks.

“When people gather in large numbers, it’s difficult to control the spread especially if those infected are asymptomatic,’’ warned Prof Omu Anzala, a microbiologist and lecturer at the University of Nairobi.

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