No
one expected this virus leave alone its spread. Since it was first confirmed,
it has snowballed and spilled over like globalization. It has become inevitable.
It’s a global concern and thus every human being is a potential carrier. China
was able to contain COVID-19 towards the end of March 2020. Other nations like
Italy, the current epicenter, are reporting hundreds of death each day. In Africa, more than 600 confimed cases, and multiple recovery cases have been reported
with WHO confirming 17 deaths in 34 African countries on 19th March
2019 among them Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Zimbabwe https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019. More countries continue to report
more cases of infection and Africans continue to observe social distancing as
well as high levels of cleanliness.
In
Kenya, the Ministry of Health, since the first case was confirmed on March 13th
2020 has worked tirelessly to inform the citizens on the ways of preventing
more spread. Twelve days later, the country
has confirmed 25 cases and is determined that this bad time shall too pass. International
flights were suspended except for Kenyans coming home not after 25th
of March 2020. Although it’s a great
move, the common Kenyan holds that this was a directive that would have been
given late February 2020. In this regard, Kenyans have shown mixed reaction
with some section of political leaders calling for lockdown, a section of common
citizen feeling let down as Rwanda entered a lockdown on 21st of
March, the first in the Sub-Saharan Africa and other percentage advocating
against lockdown in argument that the country is not prepared to feed its
people in such a case. However, to protect the welfare of the nation and avoid over-stressing
the Health sector, Kenyans have been advised to avoid crowded places with most
of the citizens changing their lifestyle to follow the Ministry of Health
directive of social distancing and self-quarantine.
This
practice will be more challenging in Sub-Sharan Africa where slums take a
higher percentage of housing. Workers in the informal sector which takes 80% of
the working population in Kenya have been seen going to their work places and
ignoring the social distancing orders. Though both the national and the county
government are working tirelessly to keep Kenyans at home, it has not been easy
with people preferring to catch the virus than staying indoors with no food and
children to feed at home.
Today
March 25th 2020, the Kenyan government gave a directive of daily curfew
from 27th of March, between 7pm and 5am with only critical and
essential services in operation. In quest to protect the jobs of its people as
well as provide certainty to the employees and employers, the president of the
Republic of Kenya ordered among them 100% tax relief for persons earning up to
Ksh 24,000, 5% Income Tax rate reduction as well as resident income tax, 2%
reduction in VAT, and voluntary reduction of salary in the senior ranks over the
duration of the global crisiskenyans.co.ke/news/51256-3-more-coronavirus-cases-confirmed-kenya. In addition, the president urged Kenyans to
exercise cooperation, collaboration, unity, shared understanding and strict adherence
to the protocols issued by the Ministry of Health. He reminded Kenyans that
they have always coalesced together and pulled each other out every time an adversity
faced them.
This is a virus which does not differentiate
social, political nor economic classes. It’s a difficult time, and with love, unity
and cooperation humanity shall emerge a winner. Africa has survived both
political and economic crises and it shall still survive this social crisis
though it shall leave most of African economies crippled.
