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President Uhuru Kenyatta (pictured) held a meeting with party leaders yesterday to discuss the surge in Covid-19 infections across the country.
A statement from State House said the president held a virtual meeting with the Jubilee, ODM, Amani National Congress (ANC), Kanu, Ford Kenya, NARC and Wiper Democratic Movement leadership to discuss the matter.
State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena said the meeting was convened as a follow-up to the one held on February 25, to review the surge of Covid-19 infections.
"The meeting considered the evolution of Covid-19 disease within our borders and noted with concern that the infections were increasing at an alarming rate; it noted that hospital beds, especially ICU beds, were filling up in both public and private hospitals," reads the statement.
Kenyans were urged to remain on high alert, to exercise extreme caution and observe all Covid-19 protocols as well as support the ongoing national vaccination programme.
Yesterday's meeting came a week after the aborted planned inaugural meeting to commemorate three years of the handshake between President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
During the meeting, Uhuru discussed with the party leaders the increasing rate of infection in the country which, going by the day's sample, had reached a high of 17 per cent.
The Ministry of Health announced that out of the 6,150 samples, some 1,064 people had tested positive, revealing a trend where numbers are going up since the beginning of this month.
The leaders in the meeting included Raila, Musalia Mudavadi, Gideon Moi, Moses Wetang'ula, Charity Ngilu and Kalonzo Musyoka.
But even as the leaders met, the slow uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine in the country was a matter of concern, with revelations that in Isiolo County only 22 health workers had been vaccinated by yesterday.
By March 13, a mere 10,000 people countrywide had received the vaccine out of the more than 1.1 million doses as the third wave continued to hit the country hard.
The health department in Isiolo says it will convene a crisis meeting today to sensitise workers on the need to take the vaccine.
Out of the estimated 1,000 staff, only 22 health workers turned up to be given the AstraZeneca vaccine in the exercise that kicked off in the county eight days ago.
The county received 1,500 doses of the vaccines as its share of the first batch targeting health workers.
Health County Executive Committee member Wario Galma was the first official to receive the jab.
Galma expressed concern at the apparent refusal by health workers to be vaccinated, saying the move was sending the wrong signals to the public.
Some of the health workers told The Standard that their reluctance follows reports that some of those who were vaccinated were developing blood clots, and that dozens of developed countries had suspended use of the vaccines.
A public health official said Governor Mohamed Kuti and his deputy Abdi Issa, who are both medical doctors, should lead by example in taking the jab as this would give the workers confidence.
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