Kenya flattens Covid curve as experts urge caution
A man receives Covid-19 vaccine. Kenya has flattened its sixth Covid-19 wave, with data from the Health ministry showing that the positivity rate has been below five per cent for more than two weeks.
What you need to know:
- The highest positivity rate recorded over the past 14 days was 3.2 per cent, which was on August 2.
- The CDC now says that, instead of quarantining, the alternative is to wear high-quality masks for about 10 days.
The country has flattened its sixth Covid-19 wave, with data from the Health ministry showing that the positivity rate has been below five per cent for more than two weeks.
According to the World Health Organisation, declaration of a flattened curve requires a daily positivity rate of below five per cent for two weeks consecutively.
Over the past one week, less than 20 people have tested positive for Covid-19 on a single day.
The highest positivity rate recorded over the past 14 days was 3.2 per cent, which was on August 2. Cumulatively, the positivity rate recorded in the country during this period was about 1.8 percent.
This plateaued state of the coronavirus in the country comes as the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relaxes some of the containment measures for the pandemic. In its latest update released this month, the CDC eased quarantining, testing and social distancing rules that previously helped in reducing infection rates.
Better knowledge on pandemic
Citing better knowledge on the pandemic and having more prevention tools like vaccines and emerging forms of treatment, Dr Greta Massetti, a senior scientist at the CDC, said people and communities can now be exempted from getting severe Covid-19.
“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where Covid-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” said Dr Massetti.
The CDC now says that, instead of quarantining, the alternative is to wear high-quality masks for about 10 days and get tested on the fifth day.
While social distancing helped in reducing the rate of transmission, the CDC now says that people have to assess the risk of spread in a particular setting.
For people who were in close contact with people who had Covid-19 and they did not develop any symptoms, they may not require to be tested for the virus. Despite easing some restrictions, the CDC still reiterates the need for some of the containment measures, such as isolation when infected with Covid-19, regardless of one’s vaccination status.
