Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a gradual reopening of the country, with the resumption of international flights from August 1 and the lifting of internal travel restrictions.
The move came on Monday as pressure increases to boost the country’s struggling economy after four months of coronavirus restrictions that have devastated key industries like tourism.
Kenyatta said in a televised speech that international air travel within and outside Kenya’s territory will resume from August 1, while domestic flights are scheduled to restart on July 15.
He also announced the lifting of a movement ban in and out of the capital Nairobi, the port city of Mombasa and northeast Mandera.
“Today I order and order that the cessation of movement within and outside the Nairobi metropolitan area, Mombasa County and Mandera County that is currently applied expire today or at 4 am (01:00 GMT) tomorrow, Tuesday, July 7, 2020, “said Kenyatta.
However, he extended the current curfew nationwide between 9 pm and 4 am for another 30 days and warned that he would not hesitate to “return to closure” if the situation worsened.
“In the next 21 days we will study the patterns of interactions and the spread of the disease. Any trend that indicates a worsening of the pandemic, we will have no choice but to return to the blockade,” he said.
Kenya has confirmed nearly 7,900 coronavirus cases as of Monday, with 160 deaths, the highest official death toll in East Africa.
The outbreak has affected the economy, and the finance ministry projects growth will slow to 2.5 percent this year from 5.4 percent last year.
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Stigma and fear of quarantine hamper Kenya’s COVID-19 fight (2:46) |
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