The government is now considering easing of health protocols put in place following the outbreak of the pandemic some two years ago.
Speaking to Citizen TV on Wednesday, March 9, health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe hinted at doing away with the masking mandate following a drop in infection rate and hospitalization.
Kagwe explained that despite the blatant disregard of the measures, the cases recorded are still lower signaling that the country and its citizens may be developing herd immunity.
He, however, explained that the Ministry was still carrying out its own research and it is expected to make the announcement regarding the revision of the measures in a few days’ time.
“The first time I noticed that these people are not actually wearing masks these days then you wonder what happens next? Let us watch and see.
“Maybe we are developing hard immunity slowly and as we develop the immunity, you don’t come hard on them. You don’t create a police state of beating them up because they are not wearing masks,” he stated.
“If they are not getting sick, then maybe that is the direction we ought to be going. This is a decision that we are going to be making in the next few days,” he added.
Some of the research being undertaken is to ensure that the positivity rate stays low for some time and that the hospitals are well equipped in case of a resurgent.
“Get your positivity rate at a certain point. Get your unexpected hospitalisation rate at a certain point. Get your oxygen supplies properly done in the event of a resurge,” he added.
This comes even as the country recorded only 14 positivity rate from a sample of over 5,000 people during this period of heightened political activities.
Also, Ministry of Health records shows that only 27 people are hospitalised with one person in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). 204 individuals are still under home-based care.
