Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has asked Kenyans to stop dramatizing the effects of coronavirus in the Country.
Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday, March 18, Atwoli stated that the situation can be controlled and there would be no need for a lockdown.
"We don't want Kenyans to dramatize the situation of coronavirus or take advantage as if it is the only outbreak that we are witnessing.
“There are people who engage in casual employment, seasonal jobs or are on contracts of a temporary nature and are paid on daily a basis...We do not want them to lose their daily bread simply because we are dramatizing the whole coronavirus thing,” Atwoli stated.
He added that officials from the union have been comparing the spread of coronavirus to past cases and have gauged its effects.
“We have had outbreaks of malaria, tuberculosis and diseases like bird flu and Ebola in West Africa, which were properly controlled and dealt with.
“We should not close down businesses as if it is a time of war. Our medics are up to the task. Let us not dramatize effects of this disease," he continued.
In conclusion, Atwoli cautioned unscrupulous employers who might take advantage of the situation to dismiss or sack workers without prior involvement of the social partners' trade unions.
On Wednesday, March 18, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe stated that the National Emergency Committee would initiate a lockdown if they were advised to do so by a team of experts currently tracking the cases and creating models based on likely scenarios.
He maintained that any decision to trigger a lock-down would be informed by facts and figures, not feelings.
"We will come to that point when the NEC has determined. We are not working by ourselves. We have got a very strong team of experts in this area, who are modelling. They will say they have identified a person here, a person there and according to their modelling, this is the likely scenario."
"So depending on that advice, that is when we make those decisions. We must be clear that we don't take decisions on the basis of a feeling, that Mutahi Kagwe has a feeling.
"We do it empirically so that we make decisions that are based on facts and figures," Mutahi explained.
Below is a video courtesy of NTV;
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