Enforce new lockdown firmly, and be clear on the measures

Police officers from Lari police station are seen at Mathore in Lari Kiambu County removing a road block after Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna announced a suspension to the directive given by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday to tame the spread of the Covid-19 after the emergence of a third wave to allow those who were locked out to travel. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

After President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the nation on the state of Covid-19 pandemic on Friday, several clarifications have followed. This is quite in order, given that the country is facing an invisible but deadly enemy. In the past, presidential directives were always final, needing no clarification from any other quarters. The spread of coronavirus has confounded scientists, governments and even the best of health experts.

Indeed, there had been a sense of defeating the virus when the number of infections and deaths appeared to go down in January this year, only to spike in late February and March. The so-called curve appeared to have been flattened. The arrival of the Covid-19 vaccines added more hope that the pandemic could be managed well. However, more infections and deaths signaled that the more lethal third wave is here, prompting President Kenyatta to restrict movement in to and out of five big counties.