- Restaurants may become incubators for the inevitable second wave of the virus, experts say.
- It is defeatist to extend school closures, partial lockdowns and then reopen restaurants, they say.
Image: DANIEL OGENDO
The government has been warned that opening restaurants, even under strict health measures, will create more avenues for the coronavirus to spread.
Two infectious disease experts said on Tuesday the move is dangerous because the government does not have comprehensive data showing whether infection in the country is at its peak and the curve is flattening.
On April 27, the government said restaurants will be allowed to reopen but under strict measures aimed at maintaining social distancing and rigid hygiene standards.
Covid-19 has killed 14 people in the country. On Tuesday the number of cases recorded rose to 374, with 124 recoveries.
Mark Nanyingi, an infectious diseases epidemiologist from the Institute of Global Health and Infection in the UK, said restaurants may become incubators for the "inevitable second wave" of the virus even before the country records the peak of the first wave.
“It is defeatist to extend school closures, partial lockdowns and then reopen restaurants to create potential hotspots of population aggregation, hence epidemic foci," he told the Star.
An expert at the Ministry of Health said the government ought to intensify targeted testing before reopening restaurants. He sought anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
He also told the Star the government does not have the capacity to ensure all restaurants adhere to strict measures.
“We should have started with a few establishments that the government could monitor and then week by week open other restaurants,” he said.
He added that under the circumstances, restaurants are required to use disposable utensils to reduce the chances of the virus spreading.
“I also don't buy the idea of allowing restaurants to sell alcohol. It beats the purpose of curfew. People will get drunk and get into risky behaviour,” he said.
Restaurants have been allowed to sell alcohol to customers on condition it is sold with a meal or to customers waiting to be served a meal.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe told MPs that restaurant owners are required to ensure social distancing.
“Dining tables must be placed 1.5 metres apart and self-service will not be allowed,” Kagwe said.
Nanyingi said the government also needs to carry out antibody tests on restaurant workers to establish if they were infected and recovered.
“We don't have any evidence of how far the virus has spread in the population until antibody tests have been done, so it is a ticking time bomb,” he said.
He added that there is need for evidence of the coronavirus suppression in the community before opening up the economy. “Ramped up targeted testing and antibody surveys are necessary,” Nanyingi explained.
He warned that waiters and food handlers are potentially high-risk “superspreaders” of the virus.
The restaurants are also required to have contact-free thermometers to measure customers’ temperature before admission.
Most hotels and restaurants were closed from mid-March, soon after the country recorded its first Covid-19 case.
Restaurants are further required to operate only between 5am and 4pm. The curfew is at 7 pm.
(Edited by V. Graham)