President Uhuru Kenyatta’s seventh address to the nation on Covid-19 was dominated by his eight-point plan to economic recovery post the pandemic.
Also worth noting was the commander-in-chief hinting at a possible return to normalcy soon. A majority of Kenyans are already jumpy and cannot wait to see the restrictions lifted. The coronavirus fatigue is real and is being felt the world over with some countries carrying out phased return to normalcy.
Our leaders should beware not to open the borders and lift restrictions only to let the virus spread within communities as mass testing has not been carried out nationally.
'Stay home, Stay safe, let’s flatten the curve' has been our guiding principle right from the moment we reported our first positive case. I am, however, worried if we as a country have a curve at all.
The numbers of Covid-19 confirmed cases have a very unpredictable trend and I bet they can’t give a regular curve. Do we know if we have reached our peak? If yes then when was that and if not, when?
The Health ministry had earlier predicted some 10,000 confirmed cases by the end of April. This never manifested. Here we are, still going strong, getting into June with less than two thousand cases.
The model used was, without a doubt, inaccurate and the explanation was that the predictions are not cast on stone. Some have since argued that the predictions are unnecessary as they are scary and create anxiety.
CS Mutahi Kagwe asked us not to drop the ball too early. Am not certain whether it is time to ease our restrictions. But just like other Kenyans, am waiting for that time when coronavirus will allow us to behave normally "without treating us abnormally".
Journalism Student, Kenyatta University
