End of masking? Gov't to revise COVID-19 containment measures

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe now says the government will in the coming days be reviewing the COVID-19 containment measures following continued low positivity rate.

Kagwe said this on a day that registered 14 new COVID-19 cases, citing that they are studying the trends to make an informed decision.

The CS also revealed some of the details in a deal to put up a vaccine manufacturing factory through an agreement with US firm Moderna Pharmaceuticals.

The masks on faces are becoming rarer in public spaces, with Kenyans breaking the recommended social distancing of at least 1.5 metres.

The Ministry of Health has in the same period been recording reduced positivity rates falling below five per cent in what is described as flattening the curve.

“The first time I noticed that these people are actually not wearing masks these days…you wonder what happens next, let’s watch and see…maybe we are slowly developing herd immunity, and as we develop it then you don’t come hard on them…if people are not getting sick, then maybe that is the direction that we ought to be going, this is a decision that we’re going to make in the next few days,” said Kagwe.

The country will mark two years of the pandemic on March 13; a pandemic that has cost 5,641 lives.

But with continued vaccination against the disease, fewer persons are getting admitted to hospitals. CS Kagwe however says there are considerations to be made before altering the containment measures.

“Get your positivity rate at a certain point, get your hospitalization rate and expected hospitalization rate at some point, get your oxygen supply properly done so that in the event of a resurge this is what happens. So that you don’t open up and the following day you have 5,000 people in hospital and guess what, you are not ready for them,” he said.

CS Kagwe revealed that the government’s role in the deal with US pharmaceutical company Moderna will be to facilitate its smooth establishment in the country.

“Our role is to ensure that bureaucratic practices do not render us as people who are not competitive in terms of attracting foreign investments,” he stated.

“Our job is to fast track and ensure that these investments come to Kenya as quickly as possible, but in terms of the shareholding…this is a private company that is coming to invest in our country.”

The over Ksh.57 billion worth factory whose location is yet to be identified is intended to build Kenya’s capacity to manufacture and supply vaccines against various infections in Africa and beyond.

“The production capacity that we’re creating in Kenya is not just about Kenya…it is being a centre of pharmaceutical products for the world. We have shown them the map of the possible areas, particularly where there are export processing zones and special economic zones…Moderna executives will be here in about two weeks to identify where,” said the CS.

Kagwe said despite the welcoming of Moderna company into the country, the government’s goal of putting up own vaccine manufacturing plant, Biovax, is on course.

President Uhuru Kenyatta witnessed the signing of a memorandum between the Ministry of Health and Moderna company on Monday.