Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday vowed to steadily reopen Kenya’s economy once there is a significant reduction in the dangers posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
President Kenyatta spoke during a live televised address to the nation on Saturday during which he announced additional measures to halt the spread of the deadly virus.
“Indeed, I have directed the National Emergency Response Committee to map out the economic sectors and activities on the basis of infection risk. The mapping exercise will be combined with increased testing and more accurate contact tracing and will inform how we reopen our economy progressively,” President Kenyatta said.
President Kenyatta said that a result of the work done so far was to allow a few restaurants and eateries in selected counties which show the highest levels of health regulation compliance and the ability to arrange for employee testing to undertake minimal operations. However, he warned that if these establishments do not follow the laid out procedures, they face instant closure and prosecution.
Kenya’s tourism sector the country’s largest foreign exchange earner, has been hard hit by the spread of the virus leading to many businesses closing and job losses.
President Kenyatta maintained that though Kenya’s economy will be reopened, it will not be done in a way that exacerbates the spread of the coronavirus and endangers the lives of millions of people.
“Some countries, as you all well know, had initially succeeded in suppressing the pandemic only for them to open up without proper process and, consequently, suffer a huge spike in infections. We do not want to go that way,” he added.
Given that the measures imposed by government to halt the virus’ spread have adversely affected the livelihoods of ordinary Kenyans, President Kenyatta said he will not hesitate to ease the restrictions but only upon the advice of health experts.
“I, government, will not delay in deescalating the measures that I am announcing today the moment our experts, because it is they in whom we should trust, inform us that the risks have reduced significantly on the basis of how we, as governments, national and county, but also as individual citizens shall respond to the directions we are given by our experts,” President Kenyatta said.
He further urged Kenyans to strictly follow the regulations put in place in order to break the chain of infections across the country.
Kenya has so far recorded 343 confirmed cases with 14 deaths and 98 recoveries.
