Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that about 250,000 jobs were shed in the 3 months leading to March 2021.

This was despite the economy having showed signs of recovery from the COVID-19 hardships. This report plainly shows that COVID -19 pandemic has been a grim period for workers and businesses indicating the employment sector is trailing   the ongoing economic recovery.

COVID-19 has been a huge setback for the progress on poverty eradication in Kenya. Job losses, food insecurity and impact on social lifestyles has also seen a spike  in mental health cases.

While many companies were shutting down or down-scaling, there are some companies that always remained fully operational and open.

A good example is the Group of Companies  founded and chaired by Jayesh Saini, one of the top entrepreneurs in the country.

During the height of COVID-19, Jayesh Saini vowed not to add to the challenges afflicting Kenyans by down-scaling or closing shop, despite the macro economic pressures to do so.

This single act to keep his over 3,000 employees employed throughout the pandemic period in his various establishments has been key in ensuring their food security, healthcare and housing for the past one and a half years.

The efforts towards supporting his staff during this difficult time has had a big effect on his companies in terms of the personal toll it has taken to keep them afloat.

However, this strain is nothing compared to the far reaching impact this has had on his staff e.g. continuation of education for staff children, effective support in the event of illness through the Bliss Healthcare network and fostering strong relationships at home leading to better mental health.

This ultimately leads to better work performance.

We are not out of the woods yet as regards COVID-19, even with the lifting of the curfew recently.

However, with emphasis on getting more Kenyans vaccinated and having more affordable health set ups offering quality healthcare like Bliss Healthcare, we shall make it out of this pandemic stronger and better than ever!

Kenya will have the capacity to repackage the COVID-19 vaccine by early next year, President Uhuru Kenya has announced adding that the pandemic had taught the country the essence of self-reliance.

In May, the Ministry of Health said talks were underway with the Oxford AstraZeneca manufacturers to enable the importation of large quantities for repackaging in vials.

In his Mashujaa Day address earlier today at Wang’uru Stadium in Kirinyaga County, the President directed the Ministry of Health to fast-track the vaccine production capacity process.

“As the first step towards this goal, we have established a company to facilitate this venture in the name of Kenya Biovax Limited,” he stated saying the form and fill rollout by Easter of 2022.

The country aims to have a fully-fledged human vaccine manufacturing capability by 2024, the National Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Plan from the Ministry of Health shows.

On June 29, 2021, during his Sixteenth Address on the COVID-19 Pandemic, the President pledged to the nation that by Christmas this year over 10 million adults would have been vaccinated.

Today, the President said he was pleased to confirm to the nation that Kenya was on course to realize this target. As of today, over 5 million adults have been inoculated.

He said compliance to Ministry of Health protocols has seen new infections decline over the last two weeks, as characterized by the positivity rate of below 5 per cent over this period.

“It is, however, important for all of us to appreciate that we are not yet out of the woods. We must, therefore, continue to observe the containment measures as directed by the MoH,” he noted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented transformations in the country’s health sector, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced.

He said the transformation is probably one of the most phenomenal testimonies of how Kenya transformed COVID-19 obstacles into opportunities that improved the health sector.

He said one of the unintended benefits of the pandemic is the increase of intensive care unit bed capacity from 108 to 651 ICU ready beds, an impressive 502 per cent.

“Similarly, our total hospital bed capacity as a country has increased by 47 per cent from 56,069 in 2013 to the current figure of 82,291 hospital beds spread throughout the country,” he noted.

While highlighting key achievements during Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kirinyaga County, the President also said the country has improved oxygen production capacity significantly.

The President reported that public health facilities can now produce over 32 million litters of medical Oxygen per day, up from 3 million litres per day in March 2020.

On testing capacity, he said the country in March 2020 only had one referencing laboratory to test notifiable diseases of international concern but now boosts of 95 such labs.

“Let me remind you that at the beginning of the pandemic early last year, we used to ship our samples for testing in South Africa and the results turnaround time would be anything from 5 days onwards,” he stated.

He said the strategic diagnostic investments have strengthened the country’s healthcare system especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It will propel us faster towards the attainment of UHC and fortify our country’s preparedness for future global health security challenges,” he stated.