Counties relax Covid-19 rules despite warnings

County governments have started easing restrictions, occasioning resumption of normal business even as the Health ministry says Covid-19 is still spreading.

The decision comes days after President Uhuru Kenyatta said the coronavirus curve has started flattening.

“However, we must not celebrate this moment too soon, but rather celebrate it with a great deal of caution,” he said on Monday afternoon.

In Wajir, for instance, the county government has ordered its staff to resume work four months after non-essential workers were ordered to operate from Home. The region has reported 38 coronavirus cases.

County Secretary Abdullahi Hassan said coming back to work would allow the resumption of public service.

Merille livestock market in Marsabit County is open but only a handful of traders and locals have face masks. Samburu county government also ordered the reopening of animal markets.

Samburu Health executive Stephen Lekupe said traders assured him that they would comply with guidelines issued to stop spread of Covid-19.

Social distancing

But the situation in Maralal is different. Traders do not observe social distancing, have no masks and rarely wash their hands. Lekurru and Lolkulian livestock markets, which were shut in April, resumed business in July.

“Social distancing is a challenge, but security officers are enforcing the directives,” Mr Lekupe said.

Matatus in Nakuru openly breach the order to carrying 60 per cent of passengers. The worst culprits are those plying the Molo, Mau Narok and Kericho routes.

Supermarkets, bars and miraa outlets in Nyandarua County are operating during curfew hours. Some do not even close.

“Matatus are a headache. We have stationed police officers at the main terminal to ensure compliance with the passenger regulations, but they start overloading once they leave,” a senior police officer in Nyandarua Central sub county said. “We cannot have an officer in every matatu.”

Murang’a devolved unit and the national government have differed on relaxing the protocols.

County Commissioner Mohammed Barre yesterday told the Nation only the Nairobi Covid-19 Coordination Office through the Health Ministry is the only one that can relax or tighten the guidelines.

“There have been directives regarding burial ceremonies. Some mortuaries are not enforcing social distance or limiting the number of people viewing the body,” he said.

Mr Barre added that liquor selling has been banned yet county officials are issuing licences to bars to operate as beer distributors.

Battle stigma

He added that family members are being allowed to carry caskets containing bodies of Covid-19 victims.

Health executive Joseph Mbai said the relaxation of the protocols will battle stigma and cushion locals from hunger.

Voi and Taveta residents are celebrating following the decision to reopen markets that were shut in March.

The traders were complaining about crowding and poor sanitation at the sites they had been shifted to by the Governor Granton Samboja administration.

Trade executive Vumi Ringo said the devolved unit would improve market infrastructure.

“We will ensure traders obey the laid down regulations. We will also keep monitoring the markets,” Ms Ringo said.

The Taveta market hosts more than 4,000 traders. Before the closure, it attracted traders from Kenya and Tanzania.

Governors Jackson Mandago (Uasin Gishu), Patrick Khaemba (Trans Nzoia), John Lonyangapuo (West Pokot) and Josphat Nanok (Turkana) have also allowed the reopening of markets.

“Livestock markets shall resume operations in adherence to health directives, including temperature screening, wearing face masks, hand sanitation, social distancing and minimal cash transactions,” Mr Mandago, who is the North Rift Economic Bloc chairman, said.

Public awareness

The governors said markets that fail to comply with the guidelines face closure. Businesses in several towns in the North Rift have relaxed the guidelines.

They no longer have sanitiser in strategic places while residents only wear masks on spotting police officers.

Burials, weddings and other ceremonies are attended by hundreds of people, including children.

At Eldoret Municipality market, traders – including those dealing in cereals, vegetables and fruits – operate casually, without face masks. Neither do they observe social distancing.

Despite a water tank and soap being placed at the market entrance, a majority of buyers and sellers fail to wash their hands.

Some even keep sampling food with their hands or even tasting in the process of purchasing, increasing the chances of spreading the deadly virus.

In Mandera town and surrounding areas, residents continue to ignore the health regulations, with the coronavirus caseload staying remaining at 28.

It is not uncommon to see residents on the streets without face masks, with most markets flooded with sellers and buyers.

The situation has been made worse by delayed testing despite the county government recently receiving the required laboratory equipment.

Mandera’s Medical Services chief officer Abukar Abdi Sheikh said the county government is banking on public awareness campaigns to win the war on the virus.

Tharaka-Nithi county government has stopped the weekly coronavirus media briefings. Health executive Gichuyia Nthuraku was using the opportunity to update locals on the progress in the fight against the pandemic and containment measures.

Very few people wash or sanitise their hands, compared to the first few months of the announcement of the pandemic.

Mr James Mutegi, a Chuka trader, told the Nation that most of the water tanks installed by the county government and Chuka University have run dry.

Reporting by Bruhan Makong, Mwangi Muiruri, Alex Njeru, Manase Otsialo, Waikwa Maina, John Njoroge, Geoffrey Ondieki, Lucy Mkanyika, Onyango K’onyango and Barnabas Bii