Kenyans react to new order to wear facemasks
The re-introduction of wearing face masks in public places such as supermarkets, places of worship and public transport has stirred mixed reactions in the country.
Speaking to Nairobi News, Byron Peter who owns a face mask shop in Nairobi expressed optimism the announcement by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe will boost his business.
“I could sell over 6 boxes of masks in a day when it was mandatory for every Kenyan to have one but that reduced to one box when the law was changed. With recent announcement that Kenyans should wear masks, my sales have shot up to 8 boxes sold in a day,” he explained.
On the other hand, Charity Phoebe, a resident in Nairobi, described the announcement as timely.
“I fully support the re-introduction of wearing face masks. People went back to their normal lives without caring. Wearing face mask will help us reduce the number of infections that are increasing,” she observed.
But Victor Odhiambo argues there was no need for the government to re-introduce wearing of face masks in worship places, supermarkets and PSV’s, yet leave out public rallies.
“The law was to be applied in political rallies. These are the places where people are crowded. If people wearing face masks in campaigns remain as an option, then the number of infections will still increase,” said Mr Odhiambo.
Roselyne Mwangi also urged the government to sensitize the public to be vaccinated.
“Kenyans should come out in large numbers to get vaccinated. This is the only way to control the spread of the virus,” said Mr Mwangi.
Kenya is now fighting the sixth wave of Covid-19 and Kagwe ]explained the sharp rise in new infections requires urgent steps to prevent the slide into a crisis as witnessed in 2o20.
The country has experienced an upsurge in new Covid-19 infections in recent days with 559 new cases reported from a sample of 3,639 on Thursday, pushing positivity rate to 15.4 percent.