When Kenya confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on March 13, the government set out to stop the virus with this strategy — test, trace, and isolate people who had contracted the disease.

The target was to test and find infected people, isolate and treat them, as their close contacts were traced and put under watch in quarantine.

Already in use in other countries, it seemed to be a simple and obvious strategy, and Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe was sure of giving the virus that is now running wild a knock-out.

But four months later, the country seems to have lost the plot, with some of the measures being abandoned as infections continue to soar.

POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

A spot-check by the Nation reveals that political announcements and the reality on the ground parted ways, with patchwork and appendages now underway on the initial strategy. A close look at happenings on the ground reveals that the ball might have dropped in some key areas of the plan, including: