Kenya cases soar to 1,109 as 80 more test positive. Kenya has recorded 80 new Covid-19 cases after testing 3,102 samples.

The national tally now stands at 1,109, the Health ministry announced Thursday.

Eastleigh is one of the Nairobi Estates that was classified as a hotspot after many cases were recorded there prompting the government to enforce restriction of movement in and out of Eastleigh.

On May 6, the government declared a 21-day cessation of movement in the area as well as Old Town area of Mombasa following increased cases of COVID-19.

Eastleigh was locked down on May 6 after it became Covid-19 hotspot.Eastleigh is both a business hub and a residential area populated mainly by Muslims of Somali extraction.

The arrival of huge numbers of refugees after the fall of Somalia's President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 transformed the once-quiet residential zone into "Little Mogadishu".

Dozens of malls and hotels have sprouted in the past 30 years, attracting thousands of shoppers across the country and the rest of East Africa.

The growth has, arguably, been funded by transnational Somali networks who bring merchandise - mainly clothes and electronics - from Dubai and China.

By yesterday, the malls had reopened and it was business as usual in disregard of social distancing.

Families trooped in, visiting shop after shop at Garissa Shopping Mall. Interaction was at close range as if to catch up with time lost in the past two weeks.

Hawkers were in their hundreds by the roadsides, displaying their merchandise on the pavements.


Most residents have been reluctant to be tested for Covid-19, attributing this to " brutality" during contact tracing.

When Eastleigh reopens, people from the rest of Nairobi will come for business and there are fears of a spike in Covid-19 cases if containment measures are not strictly adhered to.