President Uhuru Kenyatta has lifted the cessation of movement in Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Mombasa and Mandera counties from Tuesday, June 7, 2020.
However, the President has extended the nationwide curfew currently in place between 9 pm and 5 am by another 30 days.
Speaking when he addressed the nation on Monday, Uhuru said his government has chosen health over the economy.
“My administration chose the health argument over economic argument because we can always get an ailing economy back to its feet,” he said.
” We chose the path of working with partners to build on irreducible minimums.”
Uhuru said Kenya had not yet met the irreducible minimum 100 per cent.
“However after further dialogue. We have reached a level of preparedness across the country,” he said.
“In the next 21 days we shall study patterns of interactions. If there is any trends of worsening, we will have no choice but return to lock down at zero option.”
Uhuru said this order to partially reopen will bare fruits if we recognise that this exercise is a shared responsibility.
“Covid-19 responsibility is not a demand placed on self or the individual by the state. It is a duty that you individual owe your countrymen. A voluntary work of goodwill,” he added.
The president urged Kenyans to delay non essential travel to upcountry.
Uhuru has previously hinted at lifting the restrictions imposed since March. However, on Saturday, he warned of worse times ahead for the country.
On June 29, the President told a forum on US-Africa trade convened by the Corporate Council on Africa that the government would lift the inter-county lockdown in a couple of days.
Once the lockdown would be lifted, Uhuru had said, the government would allow domestic flights.
“We are going to be starting the domestic flights and this is what we will use as a trial in the next couple of days. We are opening the inter-county lockdown,” Uhuru said during the virtual forum.
The country risks more infections and deaths if restrictions are lifted in totality.
