Irony as city roars back to life amid increasing cases

Traders and shoppers in Gikomba market go about their business, ignoring social distancing guidelines, despite the rising cases of Covid-19. [David Gichuru, Standard]

The roads that were clear a few weeks ago when the first cases of Covid-19 were reported have started filling up with cars.

Office buildings that had been shut are opening to let in employees eager to return to work. The clicking sounds of computer keyboards in offices and long queues at bank lobbies show that people have stopped working from home.

Traffic jams, hooting cars in the early mornings and streets full of people in the town centre indicate a city stirring back to life, despite the number of Covid- 19 cases steeply rising.

By yesterday the country had recorded 582 cases of Covid-19, a majority of these from Nairobi.

Patricia Kamene is among the people who have returned to work. She had been waiting with enthusiasm to resume work as a waitress. When Health CS Mutahi Kagwe announced that eateries could reopen, she could not contain her joy.

“I had not been paid since the last week of March. The whole of last month, I was at home with my three children, with no salary. I was counting days for when I will work again,” she says.

House parties

Despite news that the number of cases of people diagnosed with Covid-19 is increasing, there is a nonchalant approach among a section of Kenyans who still believe that they are far removed from the virus.

In the estates, young people hold house parties and post on social media to show how ‘lucky’ they were to escape the Government’s eyes. Bars have come up with ways to dodge the regulators by locking in their customers and allowing them to drink till dawn.

“None of my customers has got sick, and they have been drinking here every day. I make sure that the bar is clean. We have sanitisers,” says a bar owner in Zimmerman.

The drilling sounds at a construction site in the neighbourhood reinforces the fact that for most city dwellers, it's business as usual. They are working, oblivious of the danger they could be exposing themselves to.

Markets are full of sellers and shoppers in an assortment of different coloured masks that they believe shield them from the virus. Some of them admit they have reused their masks for weeks.

Fast food joints are brimming with customers, their masks dangling on their chins to give them a sense of security.

“We used to receive around 200 visitors every day in this building, but now we see 50 at most,” said Harun Chepkwony, a security guard at an insurance company in the Central Business District (CBD).

“There was no one in the streets in the whole of April, but since the past weekend, the numbers have risen quickly. It’s not quite back to normal but there has been a noticeable change,” says Stanford Bogeni, a security officer at a financial institution.

He observed that most people are careless with their masks, with many wearing them low on their chins and pulling them to cover their noses only on seeing police.

“Most of the people who have returned to the Central Business District this week are those who run small businesses and do odd jobs to make ends meet. White collar workers are not in their usual numbers,” said Doreen Onderi, a shoe-shiner in the city centre.

She said even though people are wearing masks, social distancing is not being observed.

“As an essential worker, I have been coming to work as usual. Some non-essential staff who were not at work previously have also been asked to resume work,” said Joyce Njeri, who works in financial services.

Hesitant to open

“This week, there are many more people in the streets than there have been in weeks. Our sales had been very low and have began picking up with the rising number of people coming to town,” said Lucy Masila, as she attended to customers at a clothing retail store.

Kenya Tourism Federation Chairman Mohammed Hersi says when the announcement that hotels and restaurants could open was made, it is mostly the small-scale hotel business operators who went back to business.

“Most of them do not even have a food handling certificate, leave alone the certificate that they have tested for coronavirus as directed by the CS,” says Hersi.

He says most of the hotels are still hesitant to open their businesses because the cost of testing is too high. Private hospitals are charging as much as Sh10,000 per person.

“Imagine how much a hotel owner would have to pay if they have about 20 employees,” he says, adding that the Government has not issued guidance on whether hotel owners have access to the public hospital's testing centres. 

Last week, Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Mercy Mwangangi, warned the country against assuming things were back to normal.

“I dare to say these figures will continue to rise. Things are not back to normal,” she said in a warning that seems to have been ignored.

A matatu driver with the Zuri Bus Sacco says they have seen an increase in the number of people commuting to and from town, indicating that more people have stopped working from home.

Matatu Owners Association Chairman Simon Kimutai says due to the increased demand for transport, even the matatu drivers who had taken a break have resumed work.

“This is a business of supply and demand. If more people want to go to town, you will see more vehicles on the road,” he says, adding that they ensure the matatu operators are compliant with the rules that had been stipulated by the Government.

Pamela Otieno, a social worker in Mathare, says even though there were Covid-19 cases being reported in the area, most of the residents think it is a lie.

“They joke about it, saying Mathare people are resistant to Covid-19. The women still walk from house to house to wash clothes. The men are still continuing with their ‘mjengo’ business, and the young people are still congregating to play pool. They don’t believe there is Covid-19,” says Otieno.

A nurse who spoke to The Standard said there are some medics who still believe that Covid-19 is not widespread in the country, and they are not adhering to the security measures to protect themselves.

“It is unfortunate that there are some medics who still ignore the rules to wear protective gear, and they are operating as if things are normal,” she said. 

[Additional reporting by Kirsten Kanja]