March 18, 2024

COVID-19 MITIGATION: From Curfew to Our Former Secondary Schools

COVID-19 Kenyans hasten to beat the beginning of a night curfew. Image; (Courtesy)

Episode 7

BY PROF DR HALIMU SHAURI

(Dean School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Pwani University)

The anxiety is growing, day by day since this virus; Koffi Olomide calls it the Assassin, visited Kenya.

Humanity, especially Kenyans love visitors but from the look of things this is an unwanted visitor, aka an intruder, not only in Kenya but the world.

Humanity is devastated by the havoc and this is already affecting our social lives. No more freedom of movement, social distancing, quarantining, isolation, schools and colleges closed etc.

Havoc is evident in the economic sphere. Work in some sectors has been stopped or hours reduced. In some countries, lockdown and others complete shutdown.

DEVASTATION

The devastation to the global economy is unprecedented. Humanity is scared of what tomorrow, after corona, would be.

Many are of the view that the economy can be rebuilt but human life cannot. As a result, more stringent measures have to be put in place to mitigate its spread.

In Kenya where a lock down or even shutdown is looming, we are in the midst of preparations.

We started by closing schools and colleges, then workplace, encouraging people to work from home to a 5 am to 7 pm curfew.

President Uhuru Kenyatta at a past function. He ordered that all schools and colleges should be suspended due to COVID-19. Image; (Courtesy)

All these efforts have been necessitated by failure in the advocacy for behavior change.

I want to tell my fellow Kenyans that COVID-19 has no known cure up to now. There is no vaccine, the only sure way to stop the corona Assassin.

BEHAVIOR CHANGE

In the current situation, the only vaccine available is BEHAVIOR CHANGE.

We must maintain personal hygiene by washing hands, showering, maintaining social distance, self-quarantine, isolation etc.

 We failed to do this and the government imposed a curfew as its latest measure.

The government is now contemplating to take us to our local secondary schools, probably our former secondary schools for quarantining and isolation if we don’t change our behavior in mitigating COVID-19.

If we are not serious we will soon find ourselves in our former secondary schools as the government in consultation with County governments is preparing 20 secondary schools in each County for this purpose.

We should all take care, else we find ourselves in our former secondary schools, not as students this time but COVID-19 patients.

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