Covid: Majority of Nairobians from low income areas think the worst is over

In Summary

•Those who feel that that the worst has passed in the country increased from 39 per cent to 65.

•However, the percentage of those unwilling to be tested for Covid-19 has increased from 10 to 15.

A large number of Nairobi turn up for free mass testing of Covid- 19 in Embakasi East in May.
A large number of Nairobi turn up for free mass testing of Covid- 19 in Embakasi East in May.
Image: FILE

The majority of Nairobi residents from low-income areas believe the worst has passed when it comes to the Covid-19 pandamic, a Tifa poll shows.

The report released on Saturday showed that the level of worry about contracting the virus declined from 71 per cent during the first round of the survey to 40 per cent during the third round.

The areas studied were Huruma, Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho, Mukuru kwa Njenga and Kawangware.

During the second round, 54 per cent of Nairobi residents surveyed said they were worried about contracting the virus.

Saturday's report was the third release of Tifa’s Round Three survey of Nairobi’s low-income earners.

The survey findings are an indication of where Nairobi’s low-income earners were before the current spike in Covid-positive cases as reported by the Ministry of Health.

Those who feel that that the worst has passed in the country increased from 39 per cent to 65.

However, the percentage of those unwilling to be tested for Covid-19 has increased from 10 to 15.

The top two reasons for not wanting to test given were fear of the pain and discomfort from the procedure (36 per cent) and they do not believe that the virus exists (14 per cent).

Another 10 per cent feared being 'infected by the test'.

The survey also showed that only 10 per cent of those surveyed said they knew someone who had died of Covid-19 as compared to 25 per cent during the first round.

Fifty-two per cent of those surveyed said they had no idea about the number of virus cases or deaths in the country.

The findings are based on CATI (mobile phone) interviews with 555 respondents 429 (77%) of whom had participated in either Rounds One or Two, or in both.

The survey was conducted during September 24 to October 2.

 

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