Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta announced on Wednesday the immediate lifting of a nationwide coronavirus curfew in force since March 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the East African powerhouse hard, leading to the contraction of the economy and hundreds of thousands of job losses.

Kenyatta announced the decision to lift the dusk-to-dawn curfew to cheers and applause at an event to mark Mashujaa Day, a public holiday to honour those who contributed to the country's independence struggle.

Kenya has reported 252,199 cases of Covid-19 and 5,233 deaths but inoculation rates remain low, with only 4.6 percent of the adult population fully vaccinated, according to latest government figures.

© Agence France-Presse