The Acting Director-General of Health Dr. Patrick Amoth on Wednesday night, October 28, announced that the government may be forced to enforce tougher measures based on the recent surge of Covid-19 cases.
Speaking during an interview via video link, the Dr Amoth made it clear that if Kenyans continued down the current path of disregarding Covid-19 safety protocols, the government would step in.
"You can call it a second wave, you can call it a resurgence but that is nomenclature. What is important is the interventions we need to undertake.
"We need to go back to square one and continue adhering to those measures. If we don't do this, then the government will be left with no choice but to impose even more strict containment measures," he cautioned.
He further revealed that the second wave of the deadly virus was proving to be more lethal as it was claiming many more lives, even those with no underlying health conditions.
His warning came on the day that saw Kenya recording 1,018 Covid-19 positive cases and 16 deaths in 24 hours.
This made it 30 deaths from the virus in just 2 days. This could explain President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to schedule the Sixth Extraordinary Session of the National and County Governments Coordinating Summit on Wednesday, November 4.
Over the month of October, Kenya recorded 12,304 more Covid-19 cases, with the positivity rate jumping from 4.4% in September 2020, to 20.4% a month later.
The lifting of various containment measures such as the lockdowns imposed across the counties that had recorded the most cases has been highlighted as a key reason for the surge.
A spot check by Kenyans.co.ke around the matatus operating in Nairobi has shown that it's 'business as usual' with the public service vehicles operating over and beyond the mandated capacity.
Many Kenyans have also stopped wearing masks or washing hands.
Dr. Amoth was quick to highlight what happened in various European countries once their governments decided to ease up on Covid-19 containment measures.
On October 29, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron each announced month-long national lockdowns Wednesday, saying health authorities have lost control of skyrocketing new infections while hospitals fill rapidly.
The announcements came as governments across Europe struggle to contain a second wave of the virus in colder weather, even after the relative success of strict lockdown restrictions in the spring.
France on Sunday, October 25 reported a record 52,010 new confirmed coronavirus infections from the previous 24 hours.
