The devastating deaths and the decimation of jobs and livelihoods brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic will live in our collective memory for generations to come.
The response of the Uhuru Kenyatta administration was at first sluggish but revved up with the draconian and unforgettable curfews, the limited numbers who could gather either in church or even at funerals and the facemasks and endless use of soap to wash our hands.
The Ebola outbreak sweeping through the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda poses a more virulent public health challenge than the problems of Covid-19.
Kenyan truck drivers and swathes of traders ply the Kenya-Uganda-DRC route daily. Besides traders, students and even tourists from Uganda and the DRC enter Kenya daily, which means the chances of the virus finding its way into Kenya are dangerously high.
Yet the Ministry of Health approach does not seem to indicate that there is a looming danger that can quickly swamp the health system and hammer our economy to its knees, not to mention lives and the disruption of our normal lives.
The outbreak of Ebola was first reported in the DRC in early May and it's only now that the MoH is scrambling to set up screening and holding areas at border points.
Every major entry point, including airports, must set up screening and quarantine facilities because relaxing the rules is no option.
Any further delays might cost the country a health and economic blow too costly to bear.
