Self-care and caveats introduced as transport routes open

To say Covid-19 has disrupted travel is an understatement; with the virus primarily spread by movement and contact, cessation of global movements has resulted in many airlines and hotels shutting down, oil prices falling to negative and people being confined to their home areas. In Kenya this was no different, the government started with locking down international borders and select inter-county borders. For many, these restrictions though necessary were unusual and instances of cabin fever spiked. Coupled with separations of families, economic challenges and work related demands the lifting of the travel restrictions came with caveats for individuals, destinations and travel companies had to adhere to.

Given the virus is human borne, with the lifting of the travel restrictions, personal responsibility of by all stakeholders and government has issued advice for the various parties to follow.

For individuals, the basic Covid-19 protocols are in place. Individuals are asked ensure they clean their hands where possible, wear masks, cough or sneeze on their elbows and adhere to social distancing rules. Further before travelling, individuals are asked to go through key thought processes

• Is this travel necessary or a must? If no, the individual is encouraged to stay put in their current location as even asymptomatic people can still spread the virus.
• Have they shown any signs of the virus? If yes, individuals are encouraged to quarantine themselves 
• Is the virus present where you are from or spreading where you are going to?
• Are the means you are using to travel adhering to Covid-19 prevention protocols?
• Are those you are travelling or do you live people who are likely to get infected? If yes you should limit your travel

These questions and more now inform our decisions to travel as each interaction increases our chances of getting infected or infecting others.

For the transport companies, protecting passengers and limiting the spread of the virus remains key. Airline and train services in Kenya have set up detailed measures including social distancing during check in and seating, temperature checks among others. Dissecting measures in place by Kenya Airways, the airline as part of its Covid-19 countermeasures has implemented the following: -

• Working closely with both local and global health authorities, as well as following guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation and IATA to protect passenger well-being.
• Stopped issuing headsets for use across all flights. This is to support other efforts that minimise person-to -person transmission of communicable diseases. 
• Enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures in all our aircraft before a flight.
• Availing hand sanitizers in our aircraft, offices and other service areas.
• Availing personal protective equipment to our staff based on the level of risk they are exposed to in their respective workstations.
• Installation of High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filtration systems in all our aircrafts to clean the air during flights.

For many Kenyans however road transport remains as primary travel mode and challenges herein remain high. With local and long distance travel happening simultaneously, infection touch-points are many given the scale of public transport in Kenya. Millions of people are travelling long and short distances daily in buses, matatus and boda bodas and most of the operators either cannot afford and or are not adhering to the set guidelines. This coupled with ignoring and or flaunting of guidelines by some operators presents heightened risk for the general public especially where they delegate the self-care responsibilities to the service providers.

With the above threats, the onus remains on individuals to protect themselves and demand others including transport companies to adhere to the set guidelines. 

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