Five Indian technicians working on a fertiliser plant have been diagnosed with the more infectious Indian variant of Covid-19 (see P10).
Perhaps government was too hasty in relaxing the lockdown last Saturday but the economic cost of the lockdown was so great, especially in the informal sector, that government had little choice.
It was also difficult for government to halt flights from India before last Saturday as India is one of our closest international partners.
Almost certainly there are more undetected cases of the Indian variant in Kenya, and in other countries. The spread of Covid variants around the world is unavoidable.
India is afflicted by a huge upsurge in Covid infections and deaths, partly because the government supported mass political rallies and religious gatherings with millions of people. The public was casual in protecting itself because its own government was complacent and set a bad example by allowing super-spreader events.
We don't want to go down the Indian road. The government should strictly enforce the present curfew and reduced Covid regulations. And citizens should keep protecting themselves if they want to avoid an Indian-type catastrophe in Kenya.
Quote of the day: "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
Roger Bannister
The English doctor ran the first mile in under four minutes on May 6, 1954
