Kenya Virus-Infection Rate Jumps, Court Halts Vaccination Order
Kenya Virus-Infection Rate Jumps, Court Halts Vaccination Order
(Bloomberg) -- Kenya’s Covid-19 infection rate jumped to double digits on Tuesday, the highest since the government eased virus-control measures two months ago.
The test-positivity rate climbed to 11.5% on Tuesday from 1.6% on Dec. 1, according to the Ministry of Health. While Kenya hasn’t announced a confirmation of the omicron variant that’s believed to be driving a new surge in cases in South Africa, the East African nation’s government said it’s monitoring the situation closely as the end-year holiday season approaches.
Vaccination mandates may not be part of the government’s immediate options after a court on Tuesday suspended the enforcement of a directive to require people seeking in-person state services to be vaccinated against the virus. The health ministry had planned for the move to help meet an end-year target of inoculating at least 10 million adults, compared to 3.27 million fully vaccinated people currently.
“We will observe the positivity rate, hospitalization rate, and fatality rates for the next few days” to determine next steps, Health Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said by text message in response to queries.
The positivity rate fell below 5% for several weeks prior to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Oct. 20 announcement lifting restrictions such as a night curfew, religious and political gatherings.
The failure to achieve the inoculation target is largely due to lack of information, resulting in vaccine hesitancy, according to Philip Kitala, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi’s Public Health Department.
“Talk to people in their own languages using mass media. Most do not know the importance of getting vaccinated,” he said.
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