President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, July 20, convened an extraordinary summit of the National and County Governments Coordinating Summit following a surge in Covid-19 infections in the country.
A statement from State House noted that the decision to convene the meeting was made after the virus was confirmed in 44 out of 47 counties as of Sunday, June 19.
Established under the Intergovernmental Relations Act, the Summit has the President and all 47 Governors as its members. The meeting is expected to discuss county preparedness to handle cases of the virus and to review measures implemented as part of the government's response so far.
Importantly, it will review the easing of various restrictions announced by President Kenyatta during his last Presidential address on the pandemic on July 6, at State House.
While easing the restrictions, Uhuru had warned that the government would not hesitate to reinstate measures including the partial lock-down in various counties if a worrying spike in infections was recorded.
The meeting will also see the leaders analyse various medical models for them to make informed decisions in the coming months of August and September.
The statement disclosed that particular attention would be paid to assessing the capacity of health systems and structures at the national and county level to handle new cases.
"The session shall be a status conference that shall consider the evolution of the disease and the medical models on how Covid-19 may propagate within our country over the months of August and September 2020," the statement reads in part.
Since Covid-19 restrictions were eased, there has been a notable increase in the average daily cases and fatalities announced by the Ministry of Health sparking fears that a second lockdown could be looming.
The summit is chaired by the President while Council of Governors (CoG) Chair Wycliffe Oparanya serves as the Vice-Chairperson.
It's key function is to facilitate consultation and co-operation between the national and county governments.
It is also mandated to provide a forum for promotion of national values and principles of governance, promotion of national cohesion and unity and consideration and promotion of matters of national interest.
