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 Though Kenyans should continue heeding public health measures such
as handwashing and social distancing, face masks are no longer
mandatory in public and all quarantine measures for confirmed
COVID-19 cases are halted with immediate effect, Health Minister
Mutahi Kagwe told a news conference.
For the past month the East African country's COVID-19 test
positivity rate has remained below 1%, he added, attributing this to
the rising number of Kenyans opting to get vaccinated.
In November, the government announced that proof of vaccination
would be required by Dec. 21 to access schools, transport, state
offices, hotels, bars, restaurants, national parks and wildlife
reserves.
But a court blocked the move amid uncertainty over who would police
it or what to do about people unable to access vaccines. The
minister did not mention the order in his remarks on Friday.
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 Kenya, with a population of 54 million, has
recorded less than 35 daily COVID infections
over the past week, according to government
statistics. About 323,000 infections, and 5,600
deaths, have been recorded throughout the
pandemic since 2020.
Nearly 29% of Kenyan adults are fully
vaccinated, more than most countries in
sub-Saharan Africa.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Editing by Mark
Heinrich)
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