Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho on Tuesday, June 3, stated that discussions of re-opening the economy were underway ahead of President Uhuru Kenyatta's speech of Saturday, June 6.
This is after the president on May 24, 2020, hinted at the possibility of relaxing the current COVID-19 containment measures including the dusk to dawn curfew and the cessation of movement.
In an interview with Radio Citizen on Tuesday, Kibicho stated that high-level discussions are ongoing to establish safe measures that could be put in place to see the re-opening of the economy.
“We cannot lockdown forever, the government makes its money from taxes, currently people are not at work, personally I think we can re-open but under strict guidelines,” Kibicho stated.
Kibicho hinted that some restrictions may be lifted but insisted that the wearing of masks and social distancing requirements, would still be put in place.
“Companies willing to re-open will need to ensure guidelines on facemasks and social distancing are adhered to because the new coronavirus is still here with us,” he stated.
He also stated that Kenyans should not anticipate that normalcy would resume immediately.
The travel ban, which was halted on April 7, 2020 by the president, may also be lifted.
Currently, Jambo jet, a Kenyan airline and a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, has introduced a raft of measures to ensure its passengers and crew are protected from contracting COVID-19 during travel, once the travel ban is lifted.
The aircraft have been fitted with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration system that refreshes the air every 3 minutes.
“We are encouraging our customers to check-in online to minimise queues at the airport. We have also updated our boarding procedures, where passengers will be boarded by zone starting with those seating at the rear of the cabin,” reads a statement by Jambojet acting CEO, Karanja Ndegwa.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna stated that all industries were making preparations in the event that the president will re-open the economy.
"I don't know what the president will decide as curfew comes to an end but everyone is readying for the future. No one wants to be caught unaware," Oguna told our newsdesk.
During the Madaraka day celebrations, the president directed the Ministry of Interior and that of Health, to hasten their engagement with religious leaders and come up with protocols that would be adopted to guide a more participatory way of worship while guaranteeing the safety of worshipers.
In addition, he also directed the Ministry of Education to fast-track and finalize the ongoing consultations with the stakeholders.
