Hawking, gatherings banned in Eastleigh, Old Town during lockdown
The government has banned hawking, gatherings and ordered continued closure of markets, eateries and malls in Eastleigh and Old Town to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dr Rashid Aman appealed to residents of the restricted areas to observe the outlined measures so that normalcy can return.
With a steady rise in cases over the past few days, the ministry warned the public against returning to normalcy, noting that Kenya is yet to win the coronavirus battle.
Dr Aman regretted that outlets such as supermarkets are still packed and that human and car traffic in Nairobi’s central business district continues to increase.
“These facilities face the risk of closure if they fail to abide by the government’s guidelines,” he said.
He stressed on the need to continue wearing face masks and observing social distancing and high standards of hygiene to be able to contain the deadly virus.
“In order to accelerate the flattening of the curves, more measures within Eastleigh and Town include prohibition of hawking and any form of public gathering,” he said.
He appealed to members of the public to turn up for testing assuring that the government would now pay for their testing and quarantining at public facilities.
The two neighborhoods, one in Nairobi and the other in Mombasa were locked down by the government on Thursday after a surge in confirmed coronavirus cases.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Health announced that it had identified certain areas, including Old Town and Eastleigh, as potential hot spots for the coronavirus.
Last week, MOH began mass testing in high-risk areas and the tests have seen a sharp increase in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country.
In an effort to encourage more volunteer testing, the government on Wednesday announced it would pay quarantine costs for those in mandatory isolation facilities.