Encouraged by the flattering numbers of the last weeks, which have reduced to a few daily units the cases of Covid-19 virus infection in the country, the Government of Kenya is seriously considering to remove the last restrictions of the pandemic era that still fall on citizens and the national economy. We are talking here mainly about the mask requirement in public areas and premises and that of social distancing, including table arrangements in restaurants, queuing positions in offices and supermarkets and more.
The Kenyan Minister of Health, Mutahi Kagwe, in his last televised speech, hinted that soon the government will meet to review the rules on the mandatory use of the mask. Beyond the number of vaccinated people, which does not tend to increase significantly (it has not yet exceeded the quota of 8 million fully vaccinated, compared to 16.5 million who have received at least the first dose), but represents in large part the people who have frequent contact with each other and with outsiders (it should be remembered that at least 20 million Kenyans live in villages and rural areas where it is easier to have herd immunity, as the minister himself implied), the percentage of positives for swabs taken more than a month ago does not exceed 5%, considered by the World Health Organization as the pandemic's alert level. The end of restrictions, according to the WHO can occur after two weeks of these data, so theoretically Kenya could remove all obligations still in place.
"We've noticed how a lot of people don't wear masks anymore," Kagwe said, "maybe we've developed immunity and that explains why the authorities aren't particularly tough on people who flout the law. But if people don't get sick anymore, then as a government we will have to take the direction of getting rid of past laws."
Acting Director General for Health, Dr. Patrick Amoth, added that Kenya's vaccination program appears to have had the minimal desired result, as Covid-19 infections and new deaths across the country remain low. His indication, however, is to lift the outdoor-only mask requirement.
"The reduced number of infections and deaths is an indication that the country is under control," Amoth told The Standard newspaper, "for now however people should still continue to wear masks, especially if they are indoors.
If it is true that it will be possible to close the chapter pandemic, it will be then evident that for Kenya it was only a matter of following the international directives, because the famous humanitarian catastrophe foretold (See the book by Freddie del Curatolo and Angelo Ferrari "La pandemia in Kenya, l'ecatombe che non c'è stata") has not occurred. The death figures speak of 5,641 registered cases up to March 10, 2022, with 323 thousand positives.