You have a responsibility to protect yourself from Covid-19

Masks vendor Maina Matagua. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

Kenya recorded 398 Covid-19 cases on Saturday, up from 390 on Friday. That put our Covid-19 positivity rate at 14.5 per cent, with indications that the rise could continue.

By the Saturday count, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said confirmed Covid-19 cases stood at 329,107 and that cumulatively, tests have been conducted on 3,720,078 people since the coronavirus outbreak in 2020.

Notwithstanding that a 14.5 per cent positivity rate is a lot higher than the 5 per cent positivity considered safe by the World Health Organisation, the government has ruled out reintroducing stringent containment measures. And there is a good reason for this; Kenyans are still trying to recover from the effects company and business closures, lockdowns and job losses occasioned by the Covid-19 virus.

To reintroduce the measures would compound a situation made worse by the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war, and that is the last thing Kenyans want. Yet to merely hope for the best without taking personal initiatives to stop the Covid-19 spread is to bury our heads in the sand. Every single one of us knows what is expected of us, but few are bothered and continue to expose others to the deadly virus.

Wearing face masks, keeping social distance and regular hand washing are some of the ways through which Covid-19 can be tamed. Most Kenyans, however, no longer adhere to the health protocols.

It is unfortunate that during this campaign period, politicians are encouraging crowds, which act as super-spreaders. Regrettably, they do nothing to urge their followers to observe safety measures. the little monetary inducements the politicians dish out to poor voters are likely to be the dangling carrot that will drive positivity cases up.

The lackadaisical approach by the Ministry of Health in carrying out sensitisation on the latest upsurge and pushing the vaccination drive does not help matters. The ministry should adopt proactive measures; the way it did in the formative days of Covid-19. We all know what we need to do to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Let’s do it.