Avoid restaurants if you can — Virologist warns

Prof Omu Anzala, a leading scholar in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Nairobi, has asked Kenyans to avoid restaurants during this period.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Tuesday, Prof Anzala said the surge in Covid-19 cases recorded in recent days is proof that Kenyans have thrown caution to the wind.

“Restaurants are high risk because you cannot eat and talk while wearing a mask. Stay away from restaurants for now.

“Order your food in whichever way you can or eat at home. Places with poor ventilation like toilets are high risk,” he said.

Prof Anzala further stated that at the moment, testing should be targeted high risk areas such as health facilities should be given priority.

His sentiments were echoed by Dr Lukoye Atwoli who said it is pointless to conduct mass testing at the moment since community transmission is widespread.

Asked whether another lockdown would save the situation, Dr Atwoli said the strategy should change since many people have already travelled to different parts of the country.

On Tuesday, the country recorded 497 new cases out of 4922 samples tested.

The national tally now stands at 10791 and out of the new cases, 480 are Kenyans while 17 are foreigners.

Nairobi continues to lead in terms of the numbers as it recorded 292 new cases.

Unfortunately, five more patients succumbed to the virus, taking the number of fatalities to 202.

On a more positive note, 71 patients were discharged. The number of recoveries now stands at 3017.