The government of Kenya has quietly shut down 20 facilities that were collecting Covid-19 samples from Kenyans for testing at KEMRI according to sources.
The shutting down of the sample collection centers means the government has now “officially” left Kenyans on their own and it is up to their immune system to decide who lives and who dies.
Sources now say the government has chosen to focus on the Covid-19 patients admitted in various hospitals with each of them receiving attention according to their conditions.
Kenyans on social media are up in arms demanding to know why the government has decided to let go of the mass testing drive even before 300,000 Kenyans are tested. So far, the government has tested slightly above 200,000 samples.
According to the sources within the government, the authorities have decided to abandon the mass testing drive because it is unsustainable. Kenyans are, however, accusing the government of abandoning them at the hour of need.
Last week, KEMRI released a statement announcing that it was no longer going to collect Covid-19 samples from Kenyans but will only focus on targeted samples. This means the government is slowly facing out the testing for Covid-19.
Kenyans will also not be allowed to walk into KEMRI facilities for testing. Where does the government want Kenyans to go? Does this mean that the government is not serious about the fight against Covid-19? Who will come to save the vulnerable Kenyans?
As of Thursday, the number of Covid-19 confirmed in Kenya had risen to 11,673 after 421 new cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours after the testing of 3,895 samples. 409 of the 421 cases are Kenyans while 12 are foreigners. The number of men with positive cases continues to rise, accounting for 297 compared to 124 for women.
It is interesting that the government is abandoning mass testing a time cases are rising rapidly.