Category: Opinion

By Kodi Barth

This is going to light up people. Nobody is dying of Covid-19. People are dying with Covid-19. And there’s a difference. A big one.

This claim was made last week in a Kenyan WhatsApp group chat by mostly communication academics.

If it’s right, The Standard would be wrong in its April 13 front-page story titled, “More than 800-000 Kenyans could die of Covid-19 — Study.” So would Capital News in its April 18 story, “2 Kenyans succumb to Covid-19 in the UK as death toll at home hits 12.” And innumerable media outlets around the world saying Covid-19 is killing people.

The post by one Dr Sam [last name withheld] warned against looming disastrous consequences if with the new coronavirus the world goes down the same path it did with HIV-Aids in the early 90s.

The world has not quite recovered from the stigma associated HIV infections.

“Being Covid-19 positive does not mean death and is not a reason to get stigmatized [much less get clobbered by misguided Kenyan police officers enforcing quarantine],” he said. “Many people will die with Covid-19 and not due to Covid-19.”

This is the good part. And The Standard in its April 14 story, “Covid-19: Five Kenyans died in the US over last month,” would be right by clarifying that the Kenyans “died of Covid-19 related complications.”

What’s really going to light up people are three other maverick opinions by the doctor with a Kenyan last name.

One, that after looking at trends in different countries and studying our own [Kenyan] trends, any medical personnel would tell you that Covid-19 is “a mild infection that most people will recover from without anything to talk about.”

Mild? The body bags in New York and Italy and narratives by survivors who describe “horrible” experiences suggest otherwise.

On the other hand, a model which uses data from the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) now shows that “Covid-19 is more widespread, less severe,” according to an April 14 report by WebMD, an online publisher of health information.

Two, that the obsession with testing and continuous data updates, amplified daily in the media, may result in undesirable consequences: stigmatising people who contract the virus.

That conclusion is open to debate. But the premise is not. You need data to know what you don’t know, to deal with it.

Three, that without downplaying the significance of Covid-19 to some groups of people, healthcare workers should “refuse to let this highly infectious but mild disease take us where HIV did. We lost our mind and followed donors, not medicine.”

This last point ends like a conspiracy theory. But the meat of the entire post is worth debating.

Dr Sam, who said he is now a surgeon, said that as a young doctor in the early 90s he “followed the book” and regrets everyone back then giving up on the sick the instant an HIV diagnosis triumphantly shot up in the air.

He wrote: “The moment HIV was diagnosed, we were to ‘do the necessary,’ meaning the barest minimum to maintain the patient’s comfort as the patient wasted away to a stigmatised and lonely death. We called it palliative care. But it was more of supervised death.”

True, back then few patients diagnosed with HIV lived more than a few weeks. How could they after healthcare workers, friends, relatives and the system gave up on them!

“It took me a while before I realized that many of these patients died with HIV, not of HIV,” said Dr Sam. “The HIV just stigmatized and jeopardized their treatment.”

Here we are today with another pandemic.

The self-described “now wiser” medic worries that patients who are critically ill are increasingly getting tested for Covid-19. And if found positive, the treatment is going the old HIV way: isolation, quarantine, stigma.

The recent undignified handling of a corpse in Siaya County, which was reportedly buried hurriedly with no coffin and no traditional prayers in a shallow grave in the dead of night, paints a perfect picture of stigma.

On the other hand, the rule of thumb on infectious diseases is that isolation saves the living. And gives science time to cure the sick.

The problem: How do you isolate and not stigmatize?

The key argument: That once mass testing becomes the norm, Covid-19 and not underlying conditions will be wrongly blamed for cause of deaths.

This is debatable.

Summary: Do not spread panic; do not justify draconian measures for quarantine; do not stigmatise; do not scare healthcare workers into psychologically giving up on the sick; preach the practice of good hygiene to stem spread of infectious deceases.

These points are valid.

Government of Kenya has opened up the space for restaurants to keep running and here’s a bait for disaster. With community transmissions ongoing, I think this is a disastrous way to deal with the virus. We’re basically courting the worst. Here’s a comparison of two countries in Europe that could make sense. I’ll brake it down.

Sweden and Denmark both had relatively mild flu seasons this winter, with fewer people dying compared to recent years. Then COVID-19 struck, and the neighbouring countries adopted very different strategies.

While the Danes were among the first in Europe to go into lockdown, Sweden opted for the herd immunity approach, making it one of the few advanced economies in the world to do so. There was no strict lockdown, and social distancing was recommended but not dictated.

A visiting ban at care homes was introduced at the beginning of April to protect the elderly, gatherings of more than 50 people were prohibited, and universities and colleges were recommended to offer remote learning.

But otherwise, life carries on essentially unchanged: Most schools, restaurants, bars, clubs, and gyms are open, and people are practising social distancing.

A lot has been said and written about Sweden’s strategy. Its outlier status has been met with horror by some, curiosity by most, and applause by those pressing their own governments to lift restrictions that are having a destructive effect on economies and societies. With the leaders of the UK, the US, and other countries under increasing pressure to scale back their lockdowns, the question of whether Sweden’s approach is working is of international concern.

UK, initially, admitted to adopting the herd immunity approach, even though they withdrew stand, things on the ground tell a different story.

Kenya, officially, has minimal cases and while the economically fragile country just like rest continue to juggle and do a lot of guesswork, some measures seem to go off the rail. As we speak, Kenya has been under a lengthened curfew and restricted movements. It seem to be going well given the reported numbers of Covid-19 scenarios but caution is being sidelined.

Given the partial lockdown, bars and restaurants including many businesses have remained closed, the suffocated system is now easing and opening up for a smooth flow. The government has decided to reopen restaurants, in their defense, the state says that this will provide Kenyans who work there a chance to earn a living and allow for Kenyans to get a meal.

This makes a logical sense. Africa unlike the western, can’t sustain a citizen’s welfare stimulus plan. We’re too poor for this. Lockdown can’t work for us. But now with the virus, which is the right way to go?

Now the government is saying all the restaurants will have to adhere to the set requirements of testing the staff and screening of all customers. This is a realistically impossible decision to stop further spread and here’s why.

Restaurant staffs will actively mingle with both customers and others outside the premises even after the tests. They’ll receive all type of customers all through, the temperature screening has been proven not to be 100% effective as some infected person can manage up slip through, mostly the asymptotic.

Not unless the Kenyan government is silently embracing the herd immunity approach whereby basing hopes on under 4% mortality, many will develop antibodies and survive the virus. This will however come at the expense of losing many lives. This again is not the official position or insinuation but rather an opinion.

Model that has been effective in other countries who’ve managed to contain the virus is testing and isolating. The nature of the virus is just that, cut contacts.

Still on Sweden that has allowed citizens to mingle with loosened rules, it has recorded its deadliest week this century after 2,505 people died in a seven-day period earlier this month.

Kenya is faced with yet another problem, dancing with the devil, the country ceased movements outside flagged counties but allowed trucks to move. Now over 80% of cases that have been tested positive in Uganda are of truck drivers from Kenya and Tanzania.

Kenya has since started mass testing of the drivers at the border in Malaba and here’s where the trouble brews. There has been a reported traffic snarl up that has got drivers waiting for testing and clearance for upto 3 days. During this time and with a traffic that extends to almost 40KMs touching Bungoma, the drivers have actively been in contact with the locals.

Lack of proper coordination would see possible transmissions with the locals. There should be zero contacts between the drivers and locals but that’s logistically impossible with drivers stuck on the road for three days. This why I say, dancing with the devil.

Kenya and Africa even if we get billions in donations, the healthcare systems are so poor to stand, in fact, Covid19 has disapproved and overwhelmed even the best of the best systems like Italy.

Kenya with a population of approximately 48M has not done even enough tests to tell a tough estimate of virus spread but were helpless. No wonder some are saying it’s now between us and God.

By Abdi Mohammed

Since March 13, 2020 when the first of Covid-19 case was confirmed in Kenya, the number of cases have risen to more than 350.

A number of initiatives have been put in place to slow the spread of the virus. Schools, community gathering spaces like bars, gyms and golf clubs are all closed and workers advised to work from home.

Public vehicles have reduced the number of people they can carry per trip. Kenyans have been ordered to put on masks whenever they leave their houses. In addition, five counties which so far bear the burden of the disease have been put under a partial lockdown.

The government has put its focus in preventing the spread of the virus and building the capacity of the healthcare system to handle those who are or will get infected. In that regard, we applaud the president for taking the virus with the seriousness it deserves and protecting the lives of citizens.

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented global health and economic crises. All over the world, different countries have come up with different economic measures to help their citizens overcome the economic burden if they survive the virus.

Our government has also introduced a number of measures to cushion the economy. However, in doing so, it forgot one important sector; private healthcare providers who account for more than 50 per cent of health service provision.

Policymakers at the Ministry of Health and medical associations have advised providers and doctors to halt non-essential procedures in order to preserve vital supplies for fighting Covid-19. That advisory has had a negative impact on businesses. Elective procedures are the lifeblood of many hospitals and specialty clinics, but the scaling back has led some facilities to almost have no patients.

Many owners of health facilities and doctors are now struggling to meet payroll and other expenses. The prices of medical consumables have in some cases increased by 1,000 per cent due to shortages and global demand.

This means a direct increase on cost of doing business for hospitals. Although the government did the right thing to issue the advisory as we all take Covid-19 seriously, it is unfortunate that we don’t know how prevalent Covid-19 is and how long we should maintain the current status.

Mental health

The current preparedness and response is mainly geared towards Covid-19 and the health system preparedness. Non-communicable diseases, which include cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer and chronic lung diseases are forgotten and not part of the response.

This can lead to an acute exacerbation or a life-threatening deterioration in the health of people with NCDs. Mental health needs are at the peak for both the healthcare workers and the general public.

If the current status goes on for a few months without identifying specific facilities as Covid-19 centres and allowing the rest to continue with treatment and prevention of other diseases, we will have another crisis shortly.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak in Kenya, many hospitals across the nation were already facing financial challenges. There has been a delay in payment by NHIF and other insurances which have forced most hospitals to operate from hand to mouth.

The lull in patients and lost revenue from canceling elective surgeries may bankrupt most hospitals or force them to close. The same is happening in public hospitals, but luckily they are unlikely to close.

The alternative is hospitals and doctors in the private sector laying off their medical staff at a time when we need them most. Most of these health providers face tough choices on whether to keep or send home their employees who will be badly needed when the pandemic reaches its peak.

There are many other suppliers and companies that also depend on hospitals. These are pharmaceutical, food, transport, among others. Most hospitals in the private sector have less than 15 days cash on hand.

As a hospital association, we appeal to the government to enforce pending bills settlement by NHIF and other insurances, which will improve hospitals’ financial status and allow them not lay off healthcare workers during this crisis.

We are also appealing to be given grants as part of the economic stimulus and health system preparedness.

We appeal for the easing of movement and resumption of elective and non-emergency clinics. This will not only avert another crisis of non-communicable diseases post Covid-19, but will give providers a lifeline to continue with their operations and be ready when the need arises.

Dr Abdi is the chairman, Kenya Association of Private Hospitals

By Dr. Sam Misango

I want to dispel this myth about containment of a disease in the developing world, specifically Sub-Saharan African States.
This applies to matters pandemic and Covid-19, because this is where we are.

In very simple language, the management of pandemics goes through different stages, facilitated and generously financed by the World Health Organisation (WHO)

1. The existence of a national pandemic disaster management plan
2. Pandemic Disease Onset Surveillance System
3. Activation of Containment mechanisms for infected and suspected persons/animals
4. Prevention of infection among the well members of the population
5. Treatment and disease mitigation for the infected and affected persons
6. Post pandemic assessment and lessons learnt
7. Preparation for the next surge or next pandemic

Most African countries that are WHO affiliated have a national pandemic disaster management plan (on paper) which can be tweaked to handle any sub type of disaster.

The disaster management plan is activated by an efficient surveillance system that should pick the earliest occurrence of an infection in the community. Operative term here is efficient surveillance system (eg in Cuba primary health care system)

The containment restricts the initial infection to the focus point of origin, or to multiple foci points of origin, to prevent its spread and enable the management system to study the characteristics of the new disease, and prepare or tweak the system to deal with the anticipated increasing numbers of the infection.

The containment is usually not sustainable beyond 2 months since the social economic side effects of the containment measures have to be weighed against the benefits of preventing the spread of the disease which eventuallly reaches its peak of new infections then decline.

New cases will continue erupting inspite of strict containment measures because they are as a combined result of multiple origin foci and spread by previously infected persons. The system characterizes new cases by aggressive screening and categorizing them into mild, moderate or severe and critical illnesses.

When the system is efficient and can pick out new cases as they arise, it can show how new cases are increasing even in containment and eventually peak then drop off as a graph, with or without treatment/mitigating measures.

That is why containment helps in flattening the curve…of new cases.

When the system reacts after the virus has been in circulation for an unknown period of time, containment is a stupid reaction because what is being picked out by screening are new and existing cases in a pandemic that has most likely blown itself away.

This has already happened in Africa. The pandemic has blown over and we did not even notice it. Our reaction to the pandemic is however what will be remembered..How we hysterically closed and locked the stable doors after the horses had already bolted.

THERE IS NO CURVE TO FLATTEN!

This is the reason why I repeat..lockdown in African countries in this pandemic is a stupid idea.

Containment measures will only become useful once we have efficient surveillance systems to pick out new cases that signify the beginning of a pandemic.

What we should be doing now is concentrate at point 6 and 7.

We cannot pretend to be at any curve of increasing new cases. We will continue picking existing cases as we test more people.This pandemic blew over already. The lockdowns and preparedness of facilities for Covid-19 patients are a waste of our time and just a justification to spend money.

They already recovered or died of other diseases.

We should be doing extensive community testing to find out just how much the virus is part of our system, the impact it has had on our demographics, whether we have sufficient herd immunity or not and prepare ourselves for the next pandemic, not the same one but a different one. We cannot pretend to prepare for the next surge of this pandemic when we did not even notice the primary one ?

We went over the curve many weeks, probably many months ago.

Those still waiting for people to drop dead with Coronaviruses in Africa will have to find other ways of killing us then get a post mortem diagnosis of Covid-19.

The virus is with us and we will live with it. In perpetuity. Do not stigmatize people living with it after testing positive.

Open up the country because we are not achieving anything more with curfews, lockdowns and social distancing at this phase of the pandemic. Creating a mountain out of a mole hill for a crisis that isn’t there.

Those politicians, self proclaimed political analysts and alarmists advising the president not to open schools and the country are misleading the president. We have other more important issues that are affecting our people that need to be attended to. He should lead like Magufuli and Nana Akufo-Addo.

Don’t talk to me about China, Italy, Spain, Germany, USA etc….

Talk to me about Africa, and this pandemic in Africa.

The cure or attempt at cure should not be worse than the disease.

Stay healthy. Observe good basic hygiene to stop the spread of infectious diseases.

The Writer is a senior surgeon and urologist.

By Jobless Mjamaa George.

The hovering tension and fear in the atmosphere pushes me to shout out from my hibernating shell, not about only the do’s and don’ts of the government, but welcoming and accommodating the massive numbers joining the jobless world. Perturbed by what the future holds, staring down the barrel months without pay with no one to address makes me wonder if are we in a people centered government or a government of self aggrandized individuals.

With respect to the greatest pandemic of the century, we have future outcomes at hand based on how we respond to the economic aftermath. I do pray for the president during his sleepless nights as apart from it taking life’s and disruptingmarkets, it’s a measure of competence in the governments relative success to combat virus and its economic effects. This isthe nitty gritty of his legacy.

I take a visit to the future and one thing that is crystal clear is that business is not as usual, the daily tenet of mankind will be completely different and the consequences we can only begin to imagine today.

A pot of corona, inadequate planning and incompetent leadership has placed Wanjiku on a new and worrisome path doubting thevalues and virtues of the harambee philosophy and the subsequent philosophies put forth by former President Kibaki and of course the moribund Big Four Agenda of the current regime.

The barbaric approach to social welfare could be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back, end game to too much public relation.

From an economic perspective, it’s win or lose:

Holistic thinking, what we need is a different economic mindset. Cushioning Kenya via a collective approach, being able to marshal the resources to protect the core functions of economy and society. Prioritizing the protection of life and wellbeing will reduce the atmosphere of hopelessness and fear surrounding Wanjiku. Protecting parts of the economy that are essential to life: the production of food, energy and shelter for instance, so that the basic provisions of life are no longer subject to the whims of the market. A shift from the principle that people have to work in order to earn a living, to a move towards the idea that people deserve to be able to live even if they are unable to work. These will eventually lead to a more humane system that leaves us more resilient in the face of future pandemics and other impending crises.

The losing part is descending into barbarism, afact scenario we don’t want to here. We have ushered a bigger number to the joblessbench, the markets are affected and Wanjiku is left with two beasts, corona and hunger, an outcome situation that we have not yet seen. Barbarism is ultimately an unstable state that ends in ruin after a period of social devastation. The affected sectors layoff workers, businesses fail and workers starve because there are no mechanisms in place to protect them from the harsh realities of the market. Not to mention the overwhelmed hospitals, is Wanjiku guaranteed of proper health service?

The pandemic is peaking and the worst to come won’t be an accident but ignorance, the desperate Wanjiku is a catalyst to the widespread virus a factor that needs to be addressed. When we get to the face of widespread illness, support might be offered to businesses and households, but if this isn’t enough to prevent market collapse, chaos would ensue. Hospitals might be sent extra funds, but overwhelmed, those who need treatment will be turned away in large numbers and left to die. The subsequent failure of the economy and society would trigger political instability and unrest leading to a failed state and the collapse of both state and community welfare systems.

By Dr. Samson Misango

Kenyans, let me remind you of my youth, a long way back, when I was a newly qualified doctor who would do everything according to how I was taught. We called it working according to the book.

The persons who wrote that book went by the names of Hutchinson, Bailey, Love, Anderson, Apleys, Schwartz, Moore, Ganong, Greenwood, Blackwood, Whitewood and all other wood colours you can imagine….

I think you get my drift..(if you don’t, maybe this post is not for you….????)

We were supposed to read the many westernised compilations these people wrote…and quote them as authorities on medical matters….and quote them we did, like the Bible.

We needed to, all the way from early medical school.

We had to satisfy some local and international examiners who believed in these same teachings for the senate to recommend us to continue to the next level of study, and ultimately recommend that we were deserving of being given powers to read and do all that appertains towards the award of our medical degrees

We received those medical degrees with a lot of pomp, glamour and glitz…relatives came to join us from the village in all manner of dressing and vehicles, carrying banana leaves, Christmas decorations, bibles and all other things our simple people celebrate achievements with.

Most of us went on to read as asked, but we forgot to do all that appertains towards that degree as empowered.

There was a certain pandemic disease at the time called HIV (they called it novel then). It was a scourge in the 90s, some people still consider it as such. (Poor misguided souls).

One of my most distressing moments as a young doctor in a ward round at the time was coming across a patient labeled as HIV positive. The patient would be neglected. Abandoned by relatives, friends and health care workers..let me explain….

We would dutifully and enthusiastically be treating a patient for TB or diarrhoea or severe pneumonia or meningitis or Malaria etc…until someone (usually an intern doctor at the instigation of the consultant) triumphantly displayed some positive HIV test results…then the mood would change…

The consultant would declare…”Wow, this disease is serious, it is finishing our people….we have to avoid it at all costs. You can see how it comes up everywhere and has frustrated all our treatments…Now, please do the necessary.”…

Which meant we do the barest minimum to maintain the patient comfort as the patient wasted away to a stigmatized and lonely death….we called it palliative care..but it was more of supervised neglect.

Many sincere doctors will relate to this dangerous situation where a patient is given a terminal illness and their condition then becomes terminal.

Patients diagnosed to be HIV positive rarely survived beyond 1 week after this ominous diagnosis (how could they, after health care workers, friends, relatives and the system gives up on them….?)

We would come across similar situations in mortality meetings where we discuss patients’ deaths and how they could be avoided. A patient being HIV positive was not considered a good patient for discussion because the death was a foregone conclusion…! A post mortem (after death) diagnosis of HIV for a complicated case resulted in many doctors having flash bulb moments..”oh…so that was it…”

It took me a while before I realized that many of these patients died with HIV, not of HIV. The HIV just stigmatized and jeopardised their treatment.

Health care workers are human beings…they are trained to deal with cases without feelings but feelings sometimes get in the way….feelings introduced by people who decide to introduce these feelings.

Fast track to later life ..I became a surgeon, many many years later. But my pathway there is a story for a another day. Let me not digress.

In ward rounds and medical interactions, I now discourage medical students, junior doctors or any other colleagues from informing me the HIV status of patients who are undergoing treatment for whatever condition. This is so even despite some donors making it mandatory for all hospitalised patients to be tested…they are collecting data for some joint government and donor funded research….one day we will be given the results…

Here we are now, with another pandemic called Covid-19 Coronavirus, that some people want us to believe is so deadly and that it is causing the death of many infected people.

Senior medical and non medical officials are all over telling all and sundry just how we have to avoid contracting this disease at all costs, going to the extent of deploying police to enforce public health measures to protect the public from contracting and transmitting the disease.

Any medical personnel, after looking at trends in different countries and studying our own trends, will tell you that this is a mild infection that most people will recover from without anything to talk about. We have however reacted to it with all manner of prescriptions aimed at stigmatising the infection….not for our own benefit but for the sake of fulfilling some donor requirements or prescription…(why else would we be reacting this way?)

Patients who are critically ill in hospitals or dying in ICU are being tested for Covid-19….if found positive, their treatment is going the old HIV way…stigma, isolation, quarantine etc…

Without downplaying the significance of Covid-19 to some groups of people, I have refused to let this highly infectious but mild disease take us where HIV took us…we lost our minds and followed the donors.

I was young then. I am now older, more self actualised and wiser.

There are many people.. scratch that…there are very many people who are Covid 19 positive. It is here with us and it will not go away. Widespread community antibody testing will soon show that….it is a simple, cheap and quick fingerprick blood test that picks out people who have previously been infected and recovered or are recovering, NOT NECESSARILY SICK.

It is not a test to diagnose Covid-19 positive patients who are actively sick to isolate, quarantine or treat….but some people will start doing that (little knowledge is very dangerous)

Being Covid 19 positive does not mean death and is not a reason to get stigmatized. Many people will die with Covid-19 and not due to Covid 19.

Some donor (Belinda Gates) has loudly broadcast that the true extent of the infection will be known after we do mass testing….they are concerned that we are not yet dropping like flies as predicted in their models.

The reason we are not dropping like flies is because so far, many deaths cannot be attributed to the virus since we are not doing mass testing…. otherwise…many deaths would be wrongly attributed to the infection.

Remember, we have many other diseases that kill us… daily. We have never stopped our country for them. Once mass testing starts, someone will want you to believe that Covid 19 is the cause of these deaths. Do not board. RESIST!

We have stopped our country for this unknown disease that has been overhyped by the press and used to fight a superpower economic war with China.

Do not allow it to convert you into headless chickens running around the country waiting for directions from more headless chickens.. following a script from some imperialists.

Think…..Read…..Get informed.

Covid 19 is not a deadly disease…..it has been made deadly for a reason.

Do not spread panic about it…Do not justify draconian state measures towards containing a minor infection…we have more deadly infections to worry about.

Practice good basic hygiene to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Dr. Misango is a General Surgeon and Urologist with the Government of Kenya.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has called on citizens to turn to God and to keep the economy turning, but as coronavirus cases creep up, calls are rising for the country to take stronger action.

While countries across Africa have imposed curfews, partial and full lockdowns, Tanzania has resisted such measures. Schools and universities have been shut but markets, bus stops and shops bustle as usual.

Magufuli, who called for three days of prayer from last Friday to fight the virus, is one of a handful of world leaders still brushing off the seriousness of the disease.

“This is time to build our faith and continue praying to God and not depending on facemasks. Don’t stop going to churches and mosques for prayers. I’m sure this is just a change of wind and it will go like others have gone,” Magufuli said at a church in Dodoma last month.

He reiterated his message on Good Friday, last week, saying God would protect Tanzanians from the virus.

Tanzania recorded its first case of coronavirus on March 16 — and in the past week numbers have leapt from 32 to 147, with five deaths.

African countries have lagged behind the global curve, and many took fast and strict measures to curb movement, however cases are rising across the continent.

“I am not happy about the lack of seriousness by the government, lack of transparency on the data of cases and deaths, and state of denial the president has on the pandemic,” an opposition MP, Zitto Kabwe, who is also the leader of the ACT Wazalendo party, told AFP.

‘Continue producing’

Kabwe has proposed a partial lockdown of Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and the capital Dodoma, and also a total lockdown of the tourist hotspot and semi-autonomous island, Zanzibar.

However, Magufuli has encouraged Tanzanians to continue working as usual, while encouraging them to avoid “unnecessary gatherings”.

“Let us continue working hard to build our nation. Coronavirus is not and should not be a reason for us not working. Farmers should utilise the ongoing rains effectively, industrial owners should continue producing and I don’t expect any development project to stop,” he said.

“Coronavirus should not be a reason to destroy our economy at all.”

The country’s economy has already been hard hit as tourists who flock to see its wildlife and beaches, have stopped coming. Tourism is the country’s top foreign-exchange earner.

On the streets of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, citizens say they fear the virus and are doing what they can to avoid it while continuing to make ends meet.

“What I normally do is to ensure my passenger washes their hands before getting on the motorcycle. The challenge is that I have only one helmet for passengers, who share it,” said Hemedi Masoud, a motorcycle taxi operator.

He and other so-called “boda-boda” drivers park their bikes in a crowded area thronged by petty traders and pedestrians.

“I really fear coronavirus disease and it is risky here but there is no way I can avoid coming. My family needs something to eat and this is where I earn my daily bread,” said Masoud.

The government has banned buses from taking more passengers than the number of seats they contain, but this has only created bigger crowds during rush hour.

Like many poor people across the continent — even in countries which are trying to impose lockdowns — staying at home would be a grim option for many Tanzanians.

“I don’t pray for lockdown in Tanzania because we may escape coronavirus and die from hunger at home. Life has to go on and God will protect us,” said Anna John, a food vendor in the city.

Miriam John, who sells shoes, said some of her customers did not want to wash their hands but she has “no option because I need their money.”

But opposition leaders say the country needs to take more action to avoid potential disaster.

“No lockdown because he (Magufuli) wants to save the economy and his flagship infrastructure projects. The lives of our people cannot be repaired but the economy can! Lockdown or get locked out!” the chairman of the opposition party Chadema, Freeman Mbowe, posted on Twitter on Saturday.

Some experts have questioned the approach of lockdowns in Africa, where millions of urban poor live hand to mouth, but instead call for solutions such as mass testing or government support to the vulnerable.

Neighbouring Burundi has also allowed life to proceed as normal. Both countries have presidential elections this year, Burundi in May and Tanzania in October.

By Issac Otidi Amuke

The last few weeks have been a real baptism of fire for Mutahi Kagwe. Kenya’snewly-appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health took office two weeks before the country’s first confirmed coronaviruscase. But, as he revealed during his vetting, he anticipated what awaited him. For Kagwe, the question was when not if COVID-19 would affect Kenya. And so, when it did, the 62-year-old politician hit the ground running, taking charge of government communications in its pandemic response.

Kagwe’s initial media briefing was on 13 March. Results from the National Influenza Centre laboratories indicated that COVID-19 had found its way into Kenya. Two days later, and with two more cases confirmed, Kagwe was joined by President Uhuru Kenyatta who addressed the nation for the first time regarding the virus. However, as infection numbers increased, Kagwe became the default face of government, steering the National Emergency Response Committee.

Throughout his pressers, Kagwe spoke with the authoritativeness of a trusted broadcaster, giving little in terms of emotion. He quickly established camaraderie with the press, presenting himself as firm yet accessible. Many Kenyans came to associate Kagwe’s steady baritone with a sense of national reassurance, such that Kenyatta’s absences went unnoticed.

A response unravels

When the president did make an occasional appearance, it tended to either elicit ridicule or a lukewarm response. The goodwill for government that Kagwe had accrued started chipping away. The health secretary could talk the talk, but as the situation became more serious the government was struggling to walk the walk.

As the public awaited the announcement of substantive measures to contain the outbreak on 23 March, for instance, Kenyatta instead used his address to reveal that the government was working with telecoms companies to provide free internet. On 26 March, when the president announced a nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew, his seeming lack of clarity on its implementation left room for mischief. The police took his order to mean they could be a law unto themselves, going by how much violencethey meted out on workers who weren’t home by 7pm. The president later apologised for what he described as “some excesses that were conducted”.

On 5 April, he gave an even more puzzling address. Announcing that he was stopping all traffic into or out of Nairobi, the president’s message was instead widely (mis)understood to mean he was halting all movement within the city. It took the intervention of his chief-of-staff Nzioka Waita later that day to set the record straight. As if wanting to dig himself deeper, Kenyatta followed his obtuse speech with an exclusive interview to a number of Kikuyu FM stations, as if to say he only needed to reach his home base at such a time of national reckoning. It again prompted a commotion on social media.

On 9 April, Kenya’s deputy president William Ruto – whose relationship with the centre of power has gone frosty and who hadn’t made a single public appearance since COVID-19 hit Kenya – also got involved. He gave what has been considered an unnecessary press conference at his Nairobi residence, simply regurgitating what Kagwe and Kenyatta had already said.

It was up to Kagwe to steady the ship, but he too started running into headwinds. Frustrated by a lack of adherence to government directives, he read the riot act to Kenyans for their alleged indiscipline. Critics complained against the state for not doing enough while expecting the earth from its citizens. Another time, Kagwe said responsibility for tackling COVID-19 lay at the feet of Kenya’s youth. This too drew anger from many who questioned what the government has done for the youth for it to now call on them.

A few more missteps later, including complaints of the government’s poorly coordinated mandatory quarantine programme, Kagwe started declining to take questions from the press after his updates. It was burdensome to carry the weight of an entire government on one’s shoulders.

Reassuring words, troubling actions

Before Kagwe’s appointment, Kenyatta’s blue-eyed boy was Interior Minister Fred Matiangi, a man known for his forthrightness rather than amiability. The president’s other fixer was George Magoha, a former University of Nairobi vice-chancellor with a similar by-all-means-necessary demeanour.

It seems that public figures like these had set the bar for government public relations so low that when Kagwe showed up and did the bare minimum, the country took notice. Their tendency towards seeming heavy-handedness perhaps also made the softer approach of Kagwe come across as affable and competent by comparison; for the early praise he garnered, he didn’t really do anything more than keep his cool and communicate clearly.

As the coronavirus has continued to spread, however, this has counted for less and less. With cases increasing – with 216 infections, 41 recoveries, 9 deaths and an estimated 6,000 tested according to the latest figures – it has become sadly apparent how little Kagwe’s reassuring mannerisms matter.

Especially in exceptional, uncertain and challenging times such as these, trust in the government is earned through actions not words. And unless the governments puts urgent measures in place – especially to support low-income earners and provide the health sector with the life-saving equipment and facilities they need – neither Kagwe’s nor any other minister’s star quality will mean much at all. The health secretary may have projected an aura of competence, but it is actual policy that counts.

Isaac Otidi Amuke is a Kenyan writer and journalist.

Original version of this article was first published on African Arguments.

By David Kedode

Praise God, you who is reading this article, I know it’s long but this should be an eye opening for us. But before we read, let’s pray: “Our Father in Heaven we thank you for this season, thank you for bringing us into this season to see the fulfilment of your word, as my readers read this article, let it inspire and open their eyes. I bless you, for it’s in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Today, our world is faced with an unprecedented crisis. What started out as fear over the Coronavirus has turned into a power grab by the world’s nations and organizations. In order to understand the dilemma we face, we must understand how we arrived at this point in world history.

Before we proceed, I want to make this clear that Coronavirus is a real virus that has killed people and it’s still killing though it’s kill rate for those infected by it is 2% and that’s why we have referred to this as a manufactured crisis. It should also be noted that this is not about one nation making a power play over another, this is about globalization.

As we begin this critical discussion, I want you to understand everything I will outline documents and explains coordinated global efforts. I guarantee you, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, our nation and world will forever change. In the very least, we will see further erosion of our freedoms and rights. In order to understand this, we must understand historical events to make sense of today.

While the League of Nations was formed after the World War 1, it was not until the mid-1940s that globalism truly began to rear its ugly head. The League of Nations gave rise to the United Nations, and just months before, a new financial system was established, known as the Bretton Woods Agreement and Systems. This new system was designed to“promote international trade and development” and brought us the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. While Bretton Woods was dissolved, the system it established lived on.

This is important to understand, a world crisis gave rise to a completely new global financial order that forever changed the world. Of course, these new global entities were funded by the nations of the world, with the United States providing 30% of their annual budgets.

We should note, since the founding of these and other global organizations, there has never been another World War. Further, the main conflicts we have witnessed have been against nations that have not complied with the new financial order that was established back in the mid-1940s.

Summary: History has proven, people will accept just about anything for a perceived peace. They will accept new financial systems and much more if they perceive the alternative will negatively affect them.

On this date, 09/11/2001 the nation and world forever changed. That morning, terrorists hijacked airliners and crashed them into the Twin Towers in New York, or so the official story explained. This event became the catalyst for the “War on Terrorism” and the massive expansion of the U.S. Government which diminished the rights of the people.

Americans easily conceded to new sweeping regulations all in the name of peace and safety. The other nations of the world quickly followed suit, and also eroded the rights of their own citizens as the nations quickly launched the surveillance state. This led to the infamous wiretapping program that we all came to know about, but shamefully cared little for. Why? We were told it was a necessary evil to protect our freedoms from the terrorists. Unfortunately, we willingly gave up our freedoms in the name of peace and safety, something Benjamin Franklin warned us of…They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

After the attacks on 9/11, the U.S. Government launched an invasion on Afghanistan rallying a nation. Shortly after, Saddam Hussein of Iraq was deemed an enemy of America and was attacked and removed from power.

You see, Iraq and Afghanistan were not a part of the global financial order established in the 1940s. Therefore, the globalists were consolidating power around the globe and using the most awesome world power that has ever existed. American’s were being fooled while being blanketed in Patriotism of the Red, White and Blue banner.

The War on Terror transformed into a humanitarian war, when a manufactured civil war broke out in Syria. The roots of humanitarian intervention come from globalist George Soros, and the U.S. essentially spearheaded the project. Over the years reports surfaced the U.S. was funding the “rebels” in Syria, other reports would explain there were no “rebels” in Syria, only terrorists seeking to remove Syria’s President Basher Assad from power.

Around the same time, Libya suddenly had their own problems and Muamar Gaddafi was killed by “rebel” terrorists. Interestingly enough, Gaddafi was seeking to establish a new currency for a good portion of Africa based on gold. He was attempting to buck the globalist trend. Yes, you guessed it. Libya and Syria were not playing with the global powers established in the mid-1940s, and they had to be dealt with.

While Syria’s Assad still clings to power, his nation is in utter chaos. Chaos that led to millions of refugees finding a new home in Europe, forever changing the continent by mixing Christians and Muslims in a massive culture clash.

Summary: The goal all along was to remove leaders from power in nations who were not apart of the globalist agenda. In the end, these wars would simply be a stepping stone to Iran, better said, it would define Which Path to Persia…

That now brings us to the present, the current global financial crisis that has been thrust upon the world over the Coronavirus. A virus that has only killed 21,191 people globally as of this writing. To put that in perspective, every year globally 61,000 people die from seasonal flu according to the Center for Disease Control. I hope you are scratching your head, you should be. The response we are seeing from governments and organizations across the world is not proportionate to the Coronavirus threat. Despite these simple facts, less than two weeks ago the World Health Organization (founded: 1948) categorized the Coronavirus is a world Pandemic. Global financial markets instantly began to collapse. From there the mainstream media along with the nations of the world created even more panic, as if our leaders were replaced with children, (Isaiah 3:4).

No efforts have been made to calm the public, only scare them and explain they should wash their hands to avoid being infected with the Coronavirus. The same advice Mom has been giving us since we were born.

We have all read the headlines. Italy, France, Spain, Britain, Canada, India, Rwanda, Uganda, Senegal, SouthAfrica and now Britain have locked down their nations removing the rights of their people. All in the name of peace and safety to protect us from this “hidden enemy”.

This has caused global financial markets to fall further. Central Banks around the world stepped in by pumping trillions of dollars into the financial system. The Coronavirus has simply been the catalyst used to move a collapse further.

As the days grew on, so did the level of panic world governments caused. The U.S Government and world drilled phrases into our mind like “social distancing”, a line and scenario they stole from the movie “Contagion”. Globally, schools, restaurants and other businesses have been shuttered, as if it was a designed chain reaction. The U.S. Government has already passed a bailout package to save Americans from the mass panic they have created, with more bailouts on the way. In Kenya, the President yesterday gave a raft of points to secure the economy and the vulnerable. President of Kenya Address, Canada yesterday did the same thing: Canada Prime Minister.  This script is being used worldwide was it planned? More troubling.

Summary: Yes, the Coronavirus is real, yet its 2% kill rate does not warrant locking down the world.

There can be no doubt, we have arrived at a pivotal moment in world history, one that will forever change the course of the world.

We could very well be experiencing a carefully choreographed soft collapse of the global financial system. This could not come at a more opportune time, like a good designed plan. The nations of the world, corporations, and people are in record debt. It would appear, everyone is being set up for a great fall, a fall that could be so great the world will need an economic reset…

The precedent for what we now face was set in 2008, when the whole world was bailed out. Yet, Central Bankers said, there would be little they could do to save us from a future crisis, a crisis that is now unfolding.

As we have explained, with every world catastrophe, the powers that be have presented the people with a way out. A way to save them from their troubles and misery, but it always comes with a price. The resignation of some of our rights. Yet, through history, the people have gladly accepted the solutions placed before them, as the alternative that was carefully crafted against them was much worse.

It is only reasonable to consider, the master planners have decided the global financial system initiated 75 years ago has run its course, and they are ready for a new financial system they will have more control over. A financial system that will more closely unify the globe. We just may have an agenda unfolding against the people of the world. An agenda brought forward by Satan’s Children at the highest levels, which trickle down, and are executed by our foolish leaders.

A word of encouragement, do not panic but prepare. This thing is yet to end. For those who want to get quick lessons on preparedness, simple living, survival, kindly visit www.trayerwilderness.com. Very helpful tips for such a time.

So what should we Christians do in such a time: solution number one and the only one is to pray and repent of our sins. This Pandemic will only end through God’s intervention. Going back to Calvary.

Yesterday, just going through Facebook, I saw a video prophecy and it confirmed what the spirit had put in my heart. Kindly take time and watch: VERY IMPORTANT PROPHETIC MESSAGE: WHAT IS THE LORD SAYING TO KENYA ON 24TH MARCH 2020

My friends, please continue to reach out to God and ask Him to comfort, provide, and protect you and your family, (Philippians 1:6). Some of you may not be Christian. It is not too late to turn to God, accept Him, and He will accept you, (Romans 10:9). Be strong for your family and friends, and be prepared to answer their Biblical questions, (1 Peter 3:15). Find answers if you do not have them, we will help you through God’s Grace. Whatever it is that we face, we certainly will need God’s spiritual guidance to protect us through the storm ahead.

Shalom and God Bless!

David Kedode is currently working at TNR Trust as the Administrator and a part time Virtual Assistant at TrayerWilderness.com as a Virtual Assistant and also as a contributing author.

In the second week of March the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. By mid-March the disease had spread rapidly in many countries around the world.

Governments are taking drastic steps, including the complete lockdown of cities, as well as extensive health interventions to try and stem the disease which is caused by a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.

There is still a great deal that’s not known about SARS-CoV-2. This limited scientific information has contributed to a slew of myths and misconceptions. Some claims being made are harmless. Others can be potentially dangerous.

We have identified nine misconceptions doing the rounds on social media in Africa and set out to counter them. The purpose of debunking these myths is to provide people with trusted information. And to provide people with valid scientifically backed answers which they can share on social media to counter the misinformation and disinformation out there.

Myth 1: SARS-CoV-2 does not affect Africans

Across the continent rumours have been rife that the virus does not affect black people. This was fuelled partly by the fact that a Cameroonian student in China, who was among the first people to contract the disease, responded well to treatment.

But there is no proof that melanin protects black people from the coronavirus. There is also no scientific evidence that African blood composition prevents Africans from contracting the coronavirus.

This misinformation persisted even after the deaths of high-profile black Africans, such as legendary Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, and Zimbabwean media personality Zororo Makamba.

This myth is not limited to Africa. Twitter has recently been abuzz with claims of African-Americans being immune to coronavirus

Myth 2: SARS-CoV-2 cannot survive in Africa’s warm climate

This myth arose after research, which hadn’t been peer reviewed, pointed to temperature having a role in the survival of the virus. One of the most widely quoted sources was John Nicholls, a pathology professor at Hong Kong university who said that “in cold environments, there is longer virus survival than warm ones”.

This claim, however, was not based on verified research. It was nevertheless seized on as proof that the virus cannot thrive in Africa’s warm climate.

According to the WHO, the virus can be transmitted to all areas, event hot and humid countries.

The only continent that has no cases of COVID-19 is Antarctica. This could change.

Myth 3: Spray alcohol and chlorine all over your body

Using hand sanitisers that contain 60% or more of alcohol has been found to kill the coronavirus. But, there has been a myth that spraying alcohol and chlorine will kill the virus.

Alcohol and chlorine will not kill the virusif it has entered the body already.

Spraying alcohol all over your body can be harmful, particularly to your eyes and mouth. Importantly, the alcohol in the sanitiser is not the same as the alcohol that people drink. The latter ranges up to 40% while hand sanitisers need to be 60% and above.

Myth 4: Drink black tea first thing in the morning

The media in Kenya have been reporting on false claims that drinking black tea first thing in the morning is effective against the COVID-19 disease.

This is untrue. There is no evidence to suggest that tea can protect a person from the virus. These claims can result in a sense of false security and can be dangerous.

Coronavirus can be prevented by maintaining a safe social distance and washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.

Myth 5: Pepper soup with lime or lemon flushes out the virus

The pepper soup myth has been circulating mostly in Nigeria.

Pepper has anti-oxidant, detoxification and antimicrobial properties. But, there is no evidence that it prevents or kills SARS-CoV-2. It is also a rich source of vitamin C, which helps maintain a good immune system.

Likewise, lemon and lime also contain high amounts of vitamin C. But there is no evidence to support the claim that they flush the virus out of an infected person’s system.

Myth 6: Steam your face with and inhale neem tree leaves

There have been claims, mostly in Ghana, that steam therapy with neem can prevent COVID-19. What we know is that according to ayurvedic medicine experts, neem can assist in strengthening the immune system and prevent viral infections.

Neem is known to exhibit immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antihyperglycaemic, anti-oxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. But, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has emphasised that there is no clinical evidence to suggest that steaming and inhaling with neem will prevent coronavirus.

Myth 7: Vitamin C tablets prevent COVID-19

Vitamin C is a known anti-oxidant. It prevents damage to tissue in the body by neutralising free radicals, which are charged particles that cause damage to cells and tissues and result in inflammation. Vitamin C is also known to protect against pathogens.

But there is no proof that vitamin C can prevent one from contracting COVID-19 though there are trials being undertaken on the use of vitamin C among COVID-19 patient. None has provided conclusive proof.

Myth 8: Having had malaria makes one immune

There have been several social media posts that suggest that malarial endemic countries have a decreased risk of acquiring new coronavirus cases.

There is no evidence to support this.

Malaria – which is caused by a parasite and is transmitted from the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito to humans – used to be treated with the drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. These have been used, respectively, as an anti-malarial and as an auto-immune disease drug for inflammation.

The over-hyping of chloroquine has led to worldwide shortages and resulted in people self-medicating. Experts have warned that high doses of the drug are toxic.

Myth 9: The flu injection will protect you

The fact that health practitioners encourage people to vaccinate themselves against the flu, might have led to the mistaken view that the flu shot protects against the new coronavirus.

No, it does not. The flu vaccine is only effective against the influenza virus – and even then against only some flu viruses.

Humans have been known to be affected by six coronaviruses, four causing the common cold. The other two were the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2002 and 2012, respectively.

Now there is a seventh coronavirus, the SARS-CoV-2.

There is no scientific evidence that a flu shot can protect people against coronaviruses.

Original version of this article was first published on The Conversation

When Mr. Oyugi the 59 year old man from Mombasa who died for Covid19 started developing the symptoms of the virus, there was only one thing in mind, rushing him to the hospital.

When he traveled from Mombasa where he worked at the port as a KPA employee and got in an injury less accident in Awasi Kisumu, he didn’t anticipate ending up in the village hospital which would later turn to be the case.

Rural healthcare centers forms the most basic and vital base of the system. Mr. Opiyo was taken to at a private rural hospital in Ukwala, this is the forefront hospital in the area that many go to in the area. He was attended to by a long chain of people from those who took him to the hospital to all the healthcare workers who responded to his situation.

Given the Covid19 crisis, this incident in Siaya opened a big can of worms as to the preparedness of the disaster more so in the rural areas.

His death could’ve passed as a normal pneumonia were it not for the Covid19 tests that were done from the samples from his body in Kisumu by CDC.

So given the many people exposed in this line, the big question that poses a great concern is just how prepared and equipped is the rural healthcare system?

Are rural healthcare workers who’re the first to go to in the village trained for Covid19? Do the facilities in the village have the PPEs to shield the HWCs and consequently shield the population from infections?

While it’s not yet known, let’s assume the health center where the Covid19 victim had gone for treatment didn’t have the necessary PPEs to protect them from the virus then how many people were exposed and potentially infected in this chain? The numbers are unilateral.

The government has given assurances that all healthcare centers are equipped and trained but this can’t be backed up by facts in the ground.

Dr. Lishanga Makamu, Chairman Rural Private Hospitals Association of Kenya, is equally concerned raising serious questions on this matter. “How many rural health facilities have received a piece of the PPE donations? How many counties have public-private heath sector coordinating teams? How many counties have a proper public morgue? How do you get a body bag in rural Kenya?” He posed.

He continues, “We need to move preparedness beyond Nairobi. If we need irrefutable evidence that Rural Kenya is not ready for COVID19. That evidence is “The burial in Siaya County.” Did you know that the Siaya patient (RIP) sought care and died at a rural private hospital? How many rural Health workers have received ANY CoViD19 training?”

The victim was hurriedly buried on Sunday at 2am after confirmation of the results that found him positive of Covid19.

Going forward, the focus as noted above shouldn’t be concentrated in the urban center while leaving the vulnerable population in the village exposed. This is a ticking bomb that any miscalculation will be catastrophic.

Kenyans were told not to travel to the rural where the vulnerable population lives but seemingly they’ve defied orders and continue to travel and transporting the virus despite partial lockdown.

Government must therefore take the Siaya incident as a lesson and immediately dispatch the PPEs to these hospitals and adequately trained the healthcare workers that is of its not happening already. By social settings, and bedded cultural atmosphere, social distancing is nearly impossible in the rural areas that’s why quick and drastic measures must be taken by authorities including intense health sensitization in the village.

Shield the healthcare workers and this will in effect shield the communities from secondary  transmissions. If this is not done, like yesterday then we’re sitting on a bomb.

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), there has been a lot of contradicting remarks and medical advice over whether wearing face masks was effective or not.

Since the start of the outbreak, the official advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) has been clear. Only two types of people should wear masks: those who are sick and show symptoms, and those who are caring for people who are suspected to have the coronavirus. The WHO has not revised the advice given the organization already revised that the disease is airborne.

WHO says wearing masks just breeds a false sense of security against the disease and could lead to people not taking the necessary precautions like washing hands which is way more effective.

In some countries like Asia and China, wearing masks is now a norm, citizens argue that ubiquitous mask-wearing, as a very visual reminder of the dangers of the virus, could actually act as a “behavioral nudge” to you and others for overall better personal hygiene. Other countries like Czech have made wearing masks in public mandatory.

While countries that are wearing masks report fewer numbers of infections, experts say the countries have a better level of obedience to mandates and masks are not the reason for the less cases.

When it comes down to it, masks do offer a significant prevention chance, the main reason the WHO and experts are asking people not to buy them is just because of supply and demand. Since masks can’t be re-worn, the demand for them would mean they run out exposing doctors who can’t work without them.

Masks for healthcare workers is the first priority, however, the governments should work to ensure they supply to mask everyone else in order to reduce the risk for asymptomatic transmission.

Masks can also help in the ‘Don’t touch your face’ directive. Let’s flatten the curve.