Prof Lukoye Atwoli, the Dean of Aga Khan University’s
Medical College (EA), on Wednesday said that there is no point of locking down
the country at the moment unless there are other interventions.
In recent days, the number of Coronavirus infections have
been on the rise, fueling talk of a lockdown to contain the situation.
However, Prof Atwoli is not for the idea, saying it might
cause more harm than good.
“Ideally the restriction of movement must be accompanied by
other interventions. If you just lock up people in their houses for two weeks
and then reopen, you will have done absolutely nothing.
“In fact you will have done more harm than good,” he said.
Ever since the cessation of movement order was lifted, the
country has continued to record high numbers, prompting some governors to
contemplate shutting their counties to prevent further spread of coronavirus.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has rescheduled the 5th Extra-Ordinary
Session of the National and County Governments Co-ordinating Summit to review
the surge of Covid-19 infections in the country from Friday, July 24, 2020 to
Monday, July 27, 2020.
According to a statement by State House Spokesperson Kanze
Dena, the Head of State acceded to the request by the Council of governors to
push the meeting to Monday.
The summit will, among other things, assess counties’
preparedness within the wider national response to the coronavirus pandemic,
especially now that most counties have registered at least a case.
Further, it will evaluate the overall national response and
capacity, review the efficacy of the containment measures in place and assess
the impact of the phased easing of the restrictions that were in place.
Dena said the meeting would also consider the evolution of
the disease and the medical models on how Covid-19 may propagate over the
months of August and September.
