Teachers in Kenya have been asked to return to schools to help prepare for their reopening after the coronavirus lockdown.

Schools in the east African country had been shut since mid-March amid the coronavirus pandemic, and were due to remain closed until January.

But at a press conference in the capital, Nairobi, the Teachers Service Commission asked teachers to report back to schools on Monday.

"We want the school to be habitable. We've been visiting them, most of them are in very good state. There a few schools that have been damaged," Education Minister George Magoha told journalists.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to announce the date for reopening of school after a national Covid-19 conference to be held next week.