Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Tuesday, June 23, gave an in-depth interview where he addressed the Covid-19 pandemic and how it had affected him at a personal level.
In a sit down with Citizen TV's Sam Gituku, the CS opened up about how his family had also been subjected to the rules governing everybody in the country.
While discussing the implications of the restriction of movement in and out of Nairobi, Kagwe noted that his own mother blamed him for the inability to access her farm.
"My own mother is in Nairobi, unable to go home and she tells me I am the reason she is stuck here," he revealed.
He further stated that the restrictions were necessitated by measures to ensure the current situation did not get worse.
"It is not an easy decision having to tell the President to cease movements and implement a curfew but the option of not doing it is a lot more expensive in the end," he stated disclosing that in July 2020 the government would determine what to do in terms of the cessation of movement.
Kagwe further addressed the issue of his son and niece being in self-quarantine noting that they too had to follow isolation procedures.
"My son was in self-quarantine at home and we would talk through the door. My niece was in a mandatory quarantine for 21 days in a hotel in the first month. Gatherings can be very dangerous, it is not a political issue," he added.
He also touched on the reporting on deaths noting that it was difficult addressing the number of deaths and numbers of those infected adding that his job did not allow him to go into mourning and stop doing what he was doing.
Kagwe, who has been vocal against cartels in the Ministry stated that he was in the process of reshuffling his staff members.
"I am determined to make sure the resources in this Ministry go where they are to go and ensure Kenyans benefit from the government resources allocated for health. We have changed people who have been in the ministry for 8-9 years to improve service delivery," he stated.
The Health CS further stated that the peak for the Covid-19 cases had not been reached yet explaining that the figures would be higher as people travel more.
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“No-one really knew about the disease; we are all learning as we go. Counties are not the weaker link; they are our strengths but that depends on county leadership.
“We will get to a point where we have a new normal; people living with COVID-19 patients will become the new normal. We have to accept that we have a virus among us and have to live with that,” he stated.
