Uhuru Chairs Crisis Meeting as Covid Vaccine Stock Runs Low; Fuel Prices Expected to Rise Again Today & Mt Kenya Leaders Root for Kiunjuri to Be Ruto’s Running Mate

Good morning,

On Tuesday, the government announced that since the first case of coronavirus was announced in Kenya, 1,571,244 COVID tests have been conducted.

There is a Kenyan joke that makes fun of this slow testing pace, predicting that if in a year, only about 1 million tests are conducted, then to test the entire country’s population would take around 50 years, given our latest census figures.

As funny as that sounds, there is nothing to laugh about here, because the government can do much better.

With all the monies obtained from foreign lenders, coupled with the hefty taxes that citizens part with from their meagre incomes, by now, the government should have put in place proper systems to test, and treat coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, don’t you just miss the things we used to take for granted before the virus emerged?

A  big lesson from this pandemic is that the ability to do something as small as hugging a friend, or going window shopping in town is nothing short of a gift.

An even greater gift is living with peace of mind, without having to second guess yourself every time you feel an itch in the throat, a slight headache, or God forbid, experience a coughing bout.

Here are the stories making headlines on Opera News today: 

Uhuru Chairs Crisis Meeting as Covid Vaccine Stock Runs low

Kenya Wildlife Service director, Parks and Reserve, Charles Musyoki gets AstraZeneca jab at Karen Hospital.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday convened a crisis meeting to explore alternative sources of fresh supplies of Covid-19 vaccines amid reports of a looming shortage of the jab.

Sources at Afya House intimated to the People Daily that the available stock of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine would only last between 10 to 14 days before the shelves empty.

With India having temporarily suspended the export of the vaccine, the Monday State House meeting is said to have approved a recommendation from the Ministry of Health for “a delayed” second jab by four weeks.

Read more…

Fuel prices expected to further rise in latest review

Fueling Station

Fuel prices are likely to go up in new monthly rates to be announced today by the regulator.

Sources at the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) hinted to the Star that the price of a litre of petrol is likely to go up by at least Sh6, pushing the average price to at least Sh128.87.

A litre of diesel is expected to increase to Sh114.56 from current Sh107.66, signalling almost a Sh7 jump. Kerosene used mostly by rural and informal settlement households for lighting at and cooking is likely to trade past Sh100 from current Sh97.85.

Read more…

Mt Kenya leaders root for Kiunjuri to be Ruto’s running mate

Deputy President Dr William Ruto and Mwangi Kiunjuri. PHOTO: Courtesy

Leaders from Mt Kenya have started lobbying for former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri to be Deputy President William Ruto’s running mate in next year’s presidential race.

The Star has learnt that in the last three weeks, a caucus of members of National Assembly, Senate and influential grassroots leaders have been meeting to strategise on how to rally other leaders and residents of the larger Mt Kenya region to back Kiunjuri.

The strategy meetings have taken place in Nairobi, Nyeri and Kiunjuri’s home county of Laikipia.

Read more…

Do you think schools will re-open in May as mentioned by Education CS George Magoha, or are we just beginning another phase of postponement as witnessed late last year?

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