Step up vigilance to stem rising deaths from Covid-19 third wave

This month marks exactly one year since coronavirus hit Kenyan shores. The pandemic has devastated lives and livelihoods. The containment measures put in place to stem the spread of the disease have been painful for individuals, companies and many profit-making ventures. Politics has also taken a beating with the ban on public rallies. Social gatherings such as weddings and funerals have been curtailed with strict restrictions on number of participants.

However, the last few days have been calamitous as deaths, hospitalisation and infections rise to alarming levels. Hospitals have been overwhelmed, with ICU facilities filled to capacity as ordinary and numerous prominent Kenyans seek medication. The so-called third wave of the virus is here with us and it appears more brutal than the past two.

In five days alone, (Monday to Friday) we have lost 69 lives to Covid-19-related complications and we have had some 5,653 new infections. This demonstrates the viciousness of the third wave and the heavy burden brought onto our health facilities and families taking care of their relatives at home. The surge in numbers must therefore reawaken the individual measures that we initially activated at the onset of the pandemic. And as Health Chief Administrative Secretary Mercy Mwangangi said, this is no time to lower our guard. The rollout of the vaccine among frontline health workers and other vulnerable groups should not be enough licence for Kenyans to stop observing the Ministry of Health safety protocols, just yet. Wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing must still be in force to keep the contagion at bay. If you can avoid social gatherings like weddings of house parties, this is the time to do so.

Reports elsewhere in The Standard indicate that a huge number of senior politicians, government officials and prominent business persons are in hospitals battling the disease. This is also the time for schools, places of worship and any place where people gather to step up sanitisation and physical distance measures.

Failure to strictly adhere to the health rules could mean a ban on such activities, should a spike in infections be noted. Public transport operators, who had dropped the masks, sanitisation and spacing measures, must also revert to the rules to break the spread. In rural areas, where most people have not been wearing masks, this is the time to do so.