Covid-19 stigma: CS Kagwe unwittingly hands Nairobians bragging rights
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe now says no one will be air-lifted to Nairobi from other counties for treatment.
The CS said that devolution was being tested as he appealed to counties to step up their level of preparedness.
“There will be no air-lifting people from counties to Nairobi. There will be no capacity to be brought to Nairobi for treatment as Nairobi itself will be already overwhelmed,” said Kagwe.
In effect, the CS unwittingly handed Nairobians, who have been suffering stigma from village dwellers because of its epicentre status, a defence of sorts.
Kenyans in other counties have been taunting city dwellers not to visit them and infect them with the deadly virus.
He said that some counties have done well while others had performed poorly.
“Right now, we cannot predict which counties will have a heavy load. Counties need to be ready as it is a great test for devolution, my appeal is to the leadership of the counties to get prepared,” he added,
He said where the country was heading was unpredictable. “It is better to be ready than to be sorry.”
President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Monday, announced the gradual reopening of the economy while lifting lockdowns in Nairobi, Mombasa and Mandera counties subject to 21-day monitoring of infection patterns.
According to the Ministry of Health statistics, only 10 per cent of infections are symptomatic.
Over 65 per cent of those infected are males and a majority are in the age group of 30-39 years.