By Jerry Omondi
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday rallied Kenyans to continue being cautious of COVID-19 after the country recorded a slight increase in daily new cases over the past week.
President Kenyatta was speaking at State House, Nairobi, when he presided over the 92nd inspection parade of the St John Ambulance Kenya.
“Even as we congregate today, following a remarkable improvement in the disease situation, we must all appreciate the fact that we are not yet totally out of the woods,” the President said.
“We must, therefore, continue to be careful as we go about our daily callings; and more importantly, I urge all Kenyans to get vaccinated or receive your booster shots, so that we may put the pandemic behind us, once-and-for-all,” he added.
Kenya has so far recorded 324,768 COVID-19 infections with 5,651 fatalities.
The East African nation’s total number of infections is the eighth-highest on the continent.
President Kenyatta lifted a months-long nighttime curfew in October as the country lifted most major restrictions, following a decline in new infections.
Currently, the country is in an election campaign mood, with politicians trotting around the county to lure voters. Many of the campaigns attract tens of thousands of people, many of whom don’t observe COVID-19 containment measures.
Health experts have warned that the campaigns, coupled with the upcoming cold season, could trigger a spike in the rate of infection.
The health ministry has however been vocal on the need to adhere to the health guidelines aimed at minimizing the spread of COVID-19.
A nationwide vaccination exercise is also still underway. So far, more than 8.4 million people have been fully vaccinated in the country.
