Nairobi, Aug 19 (IANS): Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced a 60-day extension on the ongoing night curfew and a ban on public gatherings amid concerns over surging Covid-19 infections linked to the Delta variant.

Kenyatta said in a statement on Wednesday that prolonging measures aimed at containing the virus were informed by the looming threat to the public health system in the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to Kenyatta, there was an exponential rise in infection rates countrywide, linked to unrestrained gatherings and movement in breach of public health guidelines.

"In particular, 18 counties have recorded a positivity rate above 20 per cent over the last week," said Kenyatta, adding that eight additional counties had recorded a positivity rate of above 30 per cent.

Kenyatta said prolonging the night curfew that begins from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and prohibiting all forms of public gatherings by two months will help tame the virus transmission as the country grapples with a fourth wave.

Social gatherings including weddings and funerals will restrict attendance to 100 persons in a bid to prevent them from becoming super spreader events.

Since the onst of the pandemic early last year, Kenya has reported 220,727 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 4,340 deaths.