President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday lifted the COVID-19 lockdown imposed on five counties. The imposed restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 will now ease any concerns among Kenyans regarding the reopening of schools.
“Our education institutions in all levels of learning shall re-open in accordance with the calendar issued by the Ministry of Education,” President Kenyatta said “The resumption of sporting activities shall be guided by the regulations to be issued by the Ministry of Health jointly with the Ministry of Sports”
Re-opening of bars and restaurants, religious services, and schools has also been allowed, as the rate of infections eases. During the Labour Day celebrations at State House on Saturday, President Uhuru assured parents and learners that the school calendar will proceed as scheduled without interruption.
Curbs on travel in the capital Nairobi and four neighboring counties would be lifted, schools will be allowed to reopen following an Education Ministry calendar. The president said in his speech that the mandate of the government is to protect the constitutional right to life.
Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kagwe last week indicated that schools could be postponed for a later date due to the collision of the reopening date for schools and the time when the lockdown was to end. CS Kagwe had said that the cessation of movement in and out of the Five diseases zoned counties was set to expire on the 29th of May which will be 19 days after the reopening date for schools.
Religious services will resume with some restrictions, while political gatherings would still be banned, he said in a speech. An evening curfew that currently starts at 8 p.m. will be revised to 10 p.m. The changes will be in force from midnight on Saturday, Kenyatta said.
Under the restrictions now being loosened, Nairobi and surrounding counties were treated as one zone, with residents blocked from traveling to other regions.
Schools will therefore reopen on May 10 for term Three, as published by Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha earlier. The term will end on the 16th of July 2021 under the new calendar, which carries four school terms into one year instead of the normal 3 to make up for the time lost in 2020.
Learners will then have a one-week break before resuming on July 26 for Term One. Learners will take another one-week break from the 2nd to 10th of October before returning the next day for the second term, which will last until December 23. Before returning to the regular calendar in January 2023, there will be four terms in 2022.
“If we partner and work together, we can maintain both the health and lives of our people, as well as our economy. But if we fail to play our role, our individual role, my responsibility is to protect life first,” said Uhuru. He advised Kenyans to be “ honorable, distinguished and patriotic citizens”. He also said that the measures can be escalated if citizens fail to adhere to the set guidelines.
Covid-19 cases in Kenya, the richest country in East Africa, have dropped from last month’s peak but it is still among the top 5 nations in Africa recording new infections and deaths. Kenya reported 497 new infections and 17 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the latest health ministry data released on Friday bringing a total of nearly 159,000 cases and around 2,700 deaths.
Broadly, Africa has not been hurt badly by the pandemic like other parts of the world. However, African Union’s disease control agency warned the continent’s governments and citizens on Thursday not to let their guards down.
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