Kenya's president orders new lockdown to battle COVID-19 wave

NAIROBI: Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta restricted travel in the capital Nairobi and four other counties on Friday as COVID-19 infections hit record levels in East Africa's richest economy.

In a televised address, Kenyatta said a wave of new lockdown measures including a stricter curfew and the closure of bars in the capital were essential to fight the pandemic.

The curbs come one week ahead of the Easter holiday, when many Nairobi residents travel to other parts of the country.

The measures are similar to those imposed in March 2020, shortly after Kenya reported its first COVID-19 case. That lockdown stifled revenues and hampered growth, but the president argued a return to strict lockdown was needed to avert a worse outbreak.

"Whereas the foregoing measures will have a negative impact on the economy, these measures are temporary ... the cost of not acting now will be far much greater," the president said from State House, flanked by masked officials.

After his address, Kenyatta appeared on national TV getting his COVID-19 jab along with other members of his cabinet.

Residents of Nairobi and the four other counties were ordered to stay there and not enter other areas. In-person schooling was suspended, apart from for students taking exams. In-person gatherings were suspended in the five counties.

The new steps will take effect at midnight on Friday and last until further notice, Kenyatta said. He also said meetings of his cabinet would not be held in person until further notice.

Kenya, heavily reliant on tourism, began COVID-19 vaccinations on March 5, with the government saying it hoped the campaign would mark the beginning of the end of the pandemic. But three weeks later the president described soaring infections and the highest daily death rate since the pandemic began.

On March 12 Kenyatta extended a nationwide overnight curfew for 60 days to battle the third wave of infections, but on Friday he said further action was needed amid a "devastating" death rate and an overstretched health system.

Kenya as of Thursday had reported 126,170 cases and 2,092 deaths in total. The president said the positive test rate hit 22% this week compared to January's 2%. This month, an average of seven Kenyans have died each day from COVID-19, up from three a day in January and February.