Kenya’s coronavirus infection rate has above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) high-risk level of 5% raising concerns over the coming holidays.
This is the first time infection rates have gone high since the government removed the statewide curfew on October 20.
The positivity rate — the proportion of tests that come back positive — increased to 6.5 percent on Monday from five percent on Sunday, according to Ministry of Health data, as the infectious Omicron form emerged.
If the positive rate increases above 5%, the WHO classifies a country as high risk and urges countries to consider imposing limitations such as lockdowns if the percentage persists above the level for at least 14 days.
During his speech in Parliament, President Uhuru Kenyatta hinted that Kenya would not be heading the lockdown route again to safeguard the economy.
However he urged Kenyans to turn up and get vaccinated as the first line of defence against the virus.
Kenya has been on high alert since Uganda verified the first Omicron cases, joining nearly a dozen other African countries where the new strain has been discovered.
Since the new type was discovered in November, there has been an increase in infections in South Africa.
Despite the fact that Omicron is more transmissible than prior strains, including Delta, a study indicated that the risk of severe sickness and mortality is reduced.
